Russia pulls bond sale after rouble sinks and sanctions bite
Russia was forced to pull a bond sale yesterday as its currency sank to a record new low and sanctions against the government, over continued intervention in Ukraine, began to bite.
The country pulled the plug on a planned auction, the first in a month, as it continued to struggle with the impact of international sanctions imposed earlier this year. The sanctions prevent Russia from accessing western debt markets.
President Vladimir Putin’s government has also seen oil and gas revenues, which make up about half the country’s receipts, fall by 25 per cent since a peak in June.
The rouble slid by 0.8 per cent against the dollar yesterday, despite the $6bn spent by Moscow this month to slow the currency’s depreciation and stave off concerns over the state of the nation’s finances. Inflation is currently running at eight per cent in Russia, a three-year high.