Unnecessary fuss and problems: the economist assessed who will suffer the most in Russia due to US sanctions

Unnecessary fuss and problems: an economist assessed who will suffer the most in Russia due to US sanctions Victoria Grabovskaya

On June 13, the US Department of the Treasury added the Moscow Exchange, the National Clearing Center and the National Settlement Depository to the sanctions list. Accordingly, all transactions with dollars on the Moscow Exchange became impossible.

Economist Maxim Blunt explained 24 Channel, that so far the consequences of new sanctions from the United States are not very noticeable. The Central Bank of Russia responded to them quite quickly, since it had been preparing for this for a long time.

Dollars and euros are not very functional

Russians have a “plan B”, in case such sanctions are introduced. They explained how the official exchange rate of the dollar, euro and Hong Kong dollar would now be determined.

The biggest intrigue was what would happen to the accounts people and companies open on the Moscow Exchange, which have a lot of funds in these currencies

However, here a lot depends on brokerage companies that opened these accounts. Not all of them are under sanctions, and therefore will be able to withdraw funds to the secondary market – where banks and companies trade with each other,” the economist noted.

As for Russians, since 2022 dollars and euros in Russia are not very functional, because with a card that has these currencies, even opened in a foreign bank, there is little you can do in Russia.

At the same time, outside of Russia, nothing can be done at all with Russian cards, unless it is a resort in Turkey, where they recently accepted, but now do not really want to accept cards from Russians, – emphasized Blunt.

For ordinary Russians, dollars and euros are a currency in which from a certain point it is not very convenient to keep savings. Banks that have been sanctioned, instead of charging interest, also charge for keeping dollars or euros in their own accounts. Even within the country, transfers are impossible.

In order to receive these funds in cash, they must be order in advance. There are also difficulties in exchange: the difference in rates between buying and selling is such that it is not very possible to do this.

Or yuan – the main currency of Russia

“There is now talk in Russia that “the yuan has become the main currency of the country,” but a third of Russian imports still come in dollars and euros Therefore, due to the sanctions , the first to suffer will be the importing companies, which used the exchange to purchase currency with which they had to pay for the goods they imported. Russia,” emphasized Maxim Blunt. However, this market is not centralized.

“There, banks or companies may not have enough currency to buy or sell at the price they declare. This is unnecessary fuss and problems,” he noted.

Consequences of sanctions against Russia

• The United States introduced new anti-Russian sanctions, which this time included 30 individuals or more 200 legal entities of Russia. In addition, restrictions have been imposed on the National Clearing Center, the National Settlement Depository and the Moscow Exchange.
• The Moscow Stock Exchange has stopped trading in dollars and euros. Also, Russian banks have run out of cash currency due to the rapid demand for it.
• At the same time, Russian banks can switch to trading on the interbank foreign exchange market – without involving the Moscow Stock Exchange .