Putin_Slil — Russia's international reserves grew by $3.8 billion between May 8 and 15B

Russian central bank selling rubles apparently to keep the exchange rate from rising and hurting exports and import substitution.

Fort Russ

Russia's international reserves grew by $3.8 billion between May 8 and 15B

Putin_Slil
Original Russia's international reserves grew by $3.8 billion between May 8 and 15
Translated from Russian by J.Hawk

BIS — Elvira Nabiullina: Recent Russian economic developments and Bank of Russia's forecast

Somewhat dated but it dives a clue about the thinking of the Bank of Russia.

Bank of International Settlements
Elvira Nabiullina: Recent Russian economic developments and Bank of Russia's forecast
Statement by Ms Elvira Nabiullina, Governor of the Bank of Russia, in follow-up of Board of Directors meeting, Moscow, 13 March 2015

RT — Rapid rise of the ruble is over – Bank of Russia

The ruble’s oil-spurred rally is over, the Russian Central Bank said on Wednesday. The ruble has gained 15 percent this year after losing about half its value in 2014.

“The fast appreciation of the ruble that we saw, linked to the sharp 30 percent upswing in oil, is over,”the Central Bank First Deputy Governor Ksenia Yudaeva said at a conference on Wednesday. “Now we are seeing stabilization.”

The Central Bank is actively trying to reverse the 15 percent gain the currency picked up this year. The latest trick to weaken the currency was to increase the rate for foreign currency repurchase agreements (repo), or how much banks need to spend to take out loans.…

As an aside, it looks like women are fairly well represented in the hierarchy of the Bank of Russia in comparison with the West. Like the US, the head is a woman — Elvira Nabiullina.

RT
Rapid rise of the ruble is over – Bank of Russia

Tass — Russian Central Bank’s new appointments to help restore market confidence — experts

Fresh appointments made at Russia’s Central Bank lately amid criticism of the regulator’s measures to defend the ruble are expected to return the market’s confidence in monetary authorities, experts said on Tuesday.

Confidence fairy sighting in Russia.

Tass
Russian Central Bank’s new appointments to help restore market confidence — experts

John Helmer — Bagging The Cat — Ksenia Yudaeva, The First Russian Central Bank Governor To Be Sacked In Secret

Looks like the Russian central bank really doesn’t know what it is doing. As clueless as in the 1997-98 crisis that ended in a needless default.

Following the collapse of the oil price and the rouble, then the government bond and bank defaults of August 17, 1998, Prime Minister Sergei Kirienko was dismissed, and replaced by Yevgeny Primakov. Dubinin announced he was resigning on September 8. The next day he defended himself, publicly accusing other officials in the government. “Under my leadership,” Dubinin claimed, “the Central Bank did not print worthless money. However, monetary policies cannot forever compensate for weaknesses in tax collection and the management of the national debt.”

There it is.

Dancing with Bears

Bagging The Cat — Ksenia Yudaeva, The First Russian Central Bank Governor To Be Sacked In Secret

John Helmer