LONDON: The Bank of Russia raised its key interest rate to the highest in almost two decades and imposed some controls on the flow of capital in a bid to shield the economy from the impact of sweeping Western sanctions that include penalties on the regulator itself.
The interest rate will increase from 9.5% to 20%, the central bank said in a statement before ruble trading was due to open at 10am local time. It also temporarily banned brokers from selling securities held by foreigners starting Monday on the Moscow Exchange, without specifying which securities the ban applies to. Authorities also introduced mandatory hard-currency revenues sales for exporters.
