The U.S. dollar surged above 100 to the ruble on Monday, with the Russian currency nearing a 17-month low as President Vladimir Putin’s economic advisor blamed loose monetary policy for the rapid depreciation.
The ruble has lost around 30% against the greenback since the turn of the year. The Bank of Russia has blamed the country’s shrinking balance of trade, as Russia’s current account surplus fell 85% year-on-year from January to July.
Putin’s economic advisor Maxim Oreshkin told Russia’s state-owned Tass news agency that the depreciation would normalize in the near future.
“A weak rouble complicates the economy’s structural transformation and negatively affects the population’s real incomes. It is in the interests of the Russian economy to have a strong ruble,” he said, according to a Google translation.