EU sending Putin £673m a DAY as Russia's economy 'returns to pre-war' level, the Russian ruble has not only stabilised but has rallied

[beijingwalker]

EU sending Putin £673m a DAY as Russia's economy 'returns to pre-war' level, the Russian ruble has not only stabilised but has rallied​

THE EU has been shamed for still sending up to €800million (£673million) a day to Russia, as Moscow's economy appears to rebound.​

By CALLUM HOARE
07:58, Fri, Apr 1, 2022 | UPDATED: 16:13, Fri, Apr 1, 2022

It comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to cut off gas supplies to Europe today. He has signed an order calling for the measure unless buyers “open rouble accounts in Russian banks”. He added: "Nobody sells us anything for free, and we are not going to do charity either – that is, existing contracts will be stopped.”

The EU is particularly reliant on Moscow for its energy, importing up to around 40 percent of its supplies.

This, according to estimates, still accounts for a daily income for Russia of between €200million and €800million.

Both the UK and the US introduced strict sanctions on Russian oil and gas after the invasion of Ukraine, threatening to collapse their economy.

And many countries in the bloc have called for similar actions, but the likes of Germany have prevented such measures from being taken.

Now, Politico reports, "the Russian ruble has not only stabilised but has rallied over the past week or so".

They add that it has "quickly made up for its losses and is now back to pre-invasion levels".

On March 7, 10 rubles were worth 0.0061 euros, but today, it is worth 11 cents – the same as it was on February 20.

Germany has said the latest demands from Putin to pay in rubles amounted to "blackmail".

Nathan Piper, head of oil and gas research at Investec, told the BBC the move was an attempt to put economic pressure "back on Europe" and that more foreign exchange demand for rubles would likely push up the value of the currency.

He added: "However, long term Russia needs to remain a reliable supplier of gas so it is unclear if they would actually restrict gas supply.

"That said, even the risk of it is keeping UK/European gas prices at near record highs and six times the 10-year average. This is translating to steep rises in consumers' energy bills."

But Putin appears to already be positioning himself for such a move, turning east to strike energy deals with India, China and Pakistan.

Berlin has already triggered emergency plans in response.

It has urged its citizens and companies to reduce consumption in anticipation of possible shortages.

They have triggered the "early warning phase" of a three-step plan designed to prepare the country for potential supply issues.

Minister of Economics Robert Habeck said: "Russia has made it clear with several statements that they will present a law which will stipulate that oil and gas deliveries will in future have to be paid in rubles and there were several statements from the Russian side that if this does not happen that deliveries will be ceased.

"To be prepared for this situation, this morning I declared the early warning stage according to the gas regulation.

"The early warning stage is the first of three possible stages.

"A crisis committee has been created in the ministry along the lines of the regulation according to which this early warning stage has been declared."
The stand-off comes as Britons brace for a surge in their energy bills, with the price cap to increase by £700 a year today.

EU shamed for sending Putin £673m a DAY as Russia economy 'returns'

THE EU has been shamed for still sending up to €800million (£673million) a day to Russia, as Moscow's economy appears to rebound.

www.express.co.uk

https://www.express.co.uk/news/scie...r-level-ukraine-invasion#conversation-wrapper

 

[LT. Realist]

The state of Ruble is not that important. It's only matters in the near term.

Tech sanctions are what really matters. Putin' s army runs on Western tech and so does his oil and gas companies. Cheap to abstract russian gas/oil is running out. To dig for more expensive and harder to abstract oil & gas will require Western tech

 

[beijingwalker]

Blinken Says Ruble’s Recovery Is ‘Not Sustainable,’
Steven T. Dennis 10:31 PM IST, 04 Apr 2022

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the ruble’s rebound is fueled by “a lot of manipulation” by Russian authorities and won’t be sustainable.

“People are being prevented from unloading rubles,” Blinken said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “That’s artificially propping up the value. That’s not sustainable. So I think you’re going to see that change.”

Russia’s central bank has imposed severe capital controls to help counter financial sanctions by the U.S. and its allies and the impact of an exodus of western companies after President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. That’s helped prop up the currency, which closed at 85.42 rubles per dollar on Friday, almost matching the exchange rate on Feb. 24 when Russia began the war.

The ruble has also withstood the refusal by European countries to conduct natural-gas sales in rubles.

In March, the White House took a similar stance when it derided the partial resumption of Russian equities trading as a “Potemkin market opening” that’s “not a sustainable model.”

Export controls imposed to deny Russia access to technology will have an increasing impact, Blinken said.

“Having said that, we’re working every single day with partners and allies around the world to make sure that we’re tightening the sanctions, closing any loopholes, adding new ones,” he said.

Russia’s economy, however, is on track to see $321 billion in energy exports this year, Bloomberg reported Friday, if oil and gas continues to flow.

That estimate from Bloomberg Economics would be an increase of more than a third from 2021, providing an economic lifeline.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

www.bloomberg.com