Worries rise in Russia as ruble falls

Worries rise in Russia as ruble falls
A man holds a laptop in a mall in central Moscow on December 15, 2014. The slumping ruble has unleashed a spending spree as consumers snap up electronics, furniture and cars before prices soar. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images
Worries rise in Russia as ruble falls
A man holds a laptop in a mall in central Moscow on December 15, 2014. The slumping ruble has unleashed a spending spree as consumers snap up electronics, furniture and cars before prices soar. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

Worries rise in Russia as ruble falls

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Inflation is going up and purchasing power is falling sharply for Russians as the country’s currency drops in value.

The Russian government has taken strong measures this week, sharply increasing interest rates to 17 percent, and selling off a chunk of its dollar reserves to shore up the falling ruble.

None of the moves have worked, and the ruble is trading at about half its value from the beginning of the year.

NPR’s Corey Flintoff tells Here & Now’s Robin Young that while there is no panic on the streets, and no runs on banks, for Russian who have the money, “it makes more sense to go out and by what we used to call durable goods — refrigerators and TV sets. They idea is that you’ll have more value out of your refrigerator because it won’t lose value as fast as your rubles do.”Inflation is going up and purchasing power is falling sharply for Russians as the country’s currency drops in value.

The Russian government has taken strong measures this week, sharply increasing interest rates to 17 percent, and selling off a chunk of its dollar reserves to shore up the falling ruble.

None of the moves have worked, and the ruble is trading at about half its value from the beginning of the year.

NPR’s Corey Flintoff tells Here & Now’s Robin Young that while there is no panic on the streets, and no runs on banks, for Russian who have the money, “it makes more sense to go out and by what we used to call durable goods — refrigerators and TV sets. They idea is that you’ll have more value out of your refrigerator because it won’t lose value as fast as your rubles do.”

Corey Flintoff is a NPR international correspondent based in Moscow. He tweets @CoreyFlintoff.