Category: Russia

Russian energy panel leader says natural gas sector is resilient despite economic pressures. (UPI/Shutterstock/Igor Golovniov) Low prices and Western sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s reaction to the Ukrainian embrace of the European Union have left the Russian economy teetering on the brink of recession. Last week, the Russian currency traded at an all-time low against the U.S. dollar for at least the third time this year. "Unfortunately, our relations in the gas sector today are not only affected by the market, but also by politics — first and foremost the politics of the United States and the European Union," Pavel Zavalney, deputy chairman of the energy committee in the State Duma, told Russian news agency Sputnik, formerly RIA Novosti. Apart from sanctions, EU law restricts companies that control natural gas production from controlling delivery mechanisms as well. That, in part, forced Russian natural gas company Gazprom to reconsider […]

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ENLARGE Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev speaking on a live nation-wide TV show on Dec. 10. Associated Press KIEV, Ukraine—Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has revived threats of higher trade tariffs on goods from Ukraine, tougher rules on migrant workers and reduced Russian financial support if Ukraine implements a trade-and-political deal with the European Union. The comments published in Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta came as Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk headed to Brussels for the first time since he was reappointed earlier this month, with Western officials considering a package to prop up Ukraine’s wobbly finances. The Kremlin has long opposed the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine, which it considers to be within Russia’s sphere of influence. Ukraine and the EU delayed their free-trade deal until 2016 after Russia indicated it would retaliate with trade measures that could have crippled Ukraine’s already-struggling economy. Ukraine’s economic output is […]

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ENLARGE MOSCOW—The battered ruble fell toward record lows against the dollar again Tuesday, just hours after the Russian central bank’s surprise move overnight to jack up interest rates to 17%, as investors worried that the rate rise wouldn’t be enough to alleviate the pressure on the currency from falling oil prices and western sanctions. The ruble rallied briefly in early trade—reaching less than 59 a dollar—but fell back into negative territory less than two hours after trading began Tuesday, slipping below the 64.44 level at which the Moscow Exchange had limited trading late Monday after the Russian currency lost more than 10% of its value. Traders said there was no indication yet that the central bank was intervening with sales of foreign currency, even as the dollar tested the record level of 67 rubles briefly. With crude oil prices falling further Tuesday, pressure seemed to build on the ruble […]

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Elvira Nabiullina, chairman of Russia’s central bank, speaks during a session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on Friday, May 23, 2014. SPIEF is an annual international conference dedicated to economic and business issues which takes place at the Lenexpo exhibition center May 22-24. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Elvira Nabiullina Russian currency markets were in turmoil on Tuesday morning after Russia’s central bank sharply raised interest rates to 17 per cent in an emergency midnight move. The Russian currency initially rallied more than 8 per cent to 58.40 against the dollar following the central bank’s dramatic rate increase of 6.5 percentage points, reversing more than half of its 10 per cent drop on Monday, its worst intraday drop since the 1998 financial crisis. But the gains were short lived, with the currency up just 1.8 per cent at 64.77 as […]

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Russia’s Energy Outlook Gloomy Amid Falling Oil Prices thumbnail While most oil-dependent economies are likely to suffer under the low and volatile oil prices predicted for next year, analysts paint a particularly dark picture for Russia, which is under the additional pressure of a faltering economy and Western sanctions over Ukraine. At the end of last week oil traded at below $59 per barrel, hitting a new five year minimum. Oil prices continue to plummet from their peak in mid-2014 as supply exceeds demand, further buckling under OPEC’s decision in November not to curb production. “Moving into 2015, we see downside risks to energy prices on the back of OPEC’s decision to allow the market to “stabilize itself.” This could result in lower oil prices but also higher price volatility,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in its commodities outlook released last week. The bank reduced its 2015 Brent crude oil forecast to an average of $77 per barrel and WTI forecast to $72 per barrel. Against the backdrop of falling prices, global oil supply and demand will likely stay in balance next year, according to the […]

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MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia will take counter measures if Washington imposes new sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday. The U.S. Congress has readied new sanctions on Russian weapons companies and investors in the country’s high-tech oil projects, but U.S. President Barack Obama has yet to sign a corresponding bill into law. "We will not be able to leave that without an answer," Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying. He did not say what form of counter-measure Moscow might take. Relations between Russia and the United States are at their lowest since the Cold War because of Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March and its support for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. The West says it has firm evidence that Russia has armed the rebels – an accusation that Moscow rejects – and has, together with […]

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Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says economy never fully recovered from global economic collapse that began in 2008. UPI/Alex Volgin "Negative trends have been adding up in our economy for the past few years," Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told a roundtable of reporters . "In truth, we have not fully emerged from the 2008 crisis." Russia’s economy is burdened by sanctions imposed by Western powers in response to its role in Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels are jockeying for more control in the eastern parts of the country. Low oil prices, meanwhile, are hurting a Russian economy that depends on oil and gas exports for more than half of its revenues. Oil prices have shed more than 30 percent of their value since June. The prime minister said that’s put pressure in the value of the Russian currency and expectations for gross domestic product. "When oil fell to a […]

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