The Russian ruble reportedly continues to fall in value against strong currencies around the world as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues his war with Ukraine.
Keeping up with the Russian ruble's tumble is no easy thing. As of 2:30 p.m. EST March 2, one U.S. dollar can buy approximately 102 Russian rubles, according to the money conversion site XE.com. The ruble is likely to fall even further.
Saed Abukarsh, chief portfolio manager at Ark Capital Management Dubai Ltd.
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The change began shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began late February. Bloomberg reported Feb. 27 that liquidity had vanished across all Russian assets as the ruble plunged. Little to no trades were coming through on the ruble, and Russia's central bank reportedly banned foreign securities sales.
"Russia is simply unbankable at this stage, and anyone holding Russian assets will find their book value marked at zero till we find a way out of this," Saed Abukarsh, chief portfolio manager at Ark Capital Management Dubai Ltd., said in the Bloomberg report. "The overall market is unprepared for the speed of developments since the inception of the war."
The ruble's drop in value was caused in part by strong sanctions on Russia, leading to the currency becoming February's worst-performing emerging-market currency, as reported by Bloomburg. There continues to be no trades on the ruble, and its sudden drop in value is reportedly being felt by the Russian people.
By Feb. 28, Russia's stock market had been closed for three straight days, and an estimated $1 trillion in Russian assets had been frozen.
Things have reportedly only gotten worse for the ruble and Russia's economy. Reuters reported March 2 that the Russian ruble had found even lower lows as sanctions took hold. In trading earlier this week, the ruble dropped 4.7 percent to 106.02 against the U.S. dollar in Moscow trading. That drop followed an earlier low of 110.0, just before a very short-lived rally.
The ruble has reportedly lost about a third of its value since the new year and finished the most recent trading day in Moscow with a 2.6-percent drop in value against the euro. By then, a euro could by 115.40 rubles.
New York-based multinational investment bank J.P. Morgan issued a widely reported statement, included in the March 2 Reuter's report, commenting on how much the financial world has changed in so short a time, especially regarding the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
"The most recent measures targeting the CBR have completely changed the picture," J.P. Morgan said in its statement. "Russia's large current account surplus could have accommodated large capital outflows, but with accompanying CBR and SWIFT sanctions, on top of the existing restrictions, it is likely Russia's export earnings will be disrupted, and capital outflows will likely be immediate."
