Russia’s currency crisis might not follow the classic emerging-market template: Rather than a sharp depreciation stemmed by painful interest-rate rises, we are more likely to see a slow but inexorable decline, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Russia raised borrowing costs from 8.5% to 12% Tuesday in an attempt to stop a slide in the ruble. A day earlier, $1 briefly bought as much as 102 rubles, prompting rate setters to call an emergency meeting.

Russia's central bank hiked its key interest rate by 350 basis points to 12% on Tuesday, an emergency move to try and halt the rouble's recent slide after a public call from the Kremlin for tighter monetary policy, Reuters reported. The extraordinary rate meeting came after the rouble plummeted past the 100 threshold against the dollar on Monday, dragged down by the impact of Western sanctions on Russia's balance of trade and as military spending soars.

Russia's central bank will hold an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday to discuss the level of its key interest rate, it said on Monday, as the sharply weakening rouble prompted calls for higher borrowing costs, Reuters reported. President Vladimir Putin's economic adviser rebuked the central bank on Monday as the rouble slid past 101 per U.S. dollar, blaming loose monetary policy in a sign of growing discord among Russia's monetary authorities. The bank, whose key rate is currently 8.5%, had been scheduled to hold its next meeting on rates on Sept. 15.

Russia's budget deficit for January-July widened to 2.82 trillion roubles ($29.3 billion), or 1.8% of gross domestic product (GDP), the finance ministry said on Tuesday, citing preliminary estimates, Reuters reported. In the first seven months of last year, Russia posted a surplus of 557 billion roubles, but significant outlays to support its war in Ukraine - which Moscow calls a "special military operation" - and a barrage of Western sanctions on its oil and gas exports have hit government coffers since then.

The Irish High Court will decide on Wednesday to either wind up or appoint an examiner to two Russian State-owned aircraft and shipping leasing firms – GTLK Europe DAC and GTLK Europe Captial DAC – which are registered in Ireland, the Independent reported. Mr Justice Conor Dignam said that he would give his decision after considering petitions from several creditors of the company to have the two firms wound up, in what would be among the largest liquidations in the history of the State.

Russia's economy grew 3.3% in April in annual terms, the economy ministry estimated on Wednesday, up from a revised 0.7% year-on-year contraction in March, Reuters reported. The ministry said the growth reading was in part due to the low base effect of last year. Russia's economy contracted 2.1% in 2022 as a whole and was under particular pressure in the spring as the West imposed sweeping sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Read more.

India and Russia have suspended efforts to settle bilateral trade in rupees, after months of negotiations failed to convince Moscow to keep rupees in its coffers, Reuters reported. This would be a major setback for Indian importers of cheap oil and coal from Russia who were awaiting a permanent rupee payment mechanism to help lower currency conversion costs.

Russia's economy contracted by 2.2% in the first quarter of 2023 in annual terms, the economy ministry estimated on Wednesday, down from growth of 3% in the same period last year, Reuters reported. The ministry estimated that gross domestic product (GDP) fell 1.1% year-on-year in March, an improvement on a revised 2.9% drop in February. Russia's GDP is expected to rebound marginally this year from a 2.1% annual decline in 2022, the result of Western sanctions against Moscow after it despatched troops to Ukraine in February 2022.

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a decree establishing temporary control of the Russian assets of two foreign energy firms, signaling Moscow could take similar action against other companies if need be. The decree - outlining possible retaliation if Russian assets abroad are seized - showed Moscow had already taken action against Uniper SE's Russian division and the assets of Finland's Fortum Oyj. The decree said Russia needed to take urgent measures to respond to unspecified actions from the United States and others it said were "unfriendly and contrary to international law".

The European Union is set to propose a ban on many goods from transiting through Russia as the bloc attempts to tighten the screws on the enforcement of sanctions imposed over the past year, Bloomberg News reported. he transit ban would extend to numerous technologies and other goods, including several types of vehicles, but not all items would be barred from traveling via Russia en route to third countries. The ban would be part of a new package of sanctions that’s being prepared by the European Commission. Moscow has been able to get around restrictions on several sanctioned technologies.