The Bank of Russia has unsealed its gold and foreign exchange reserves to put out a fire in the foreign exchange market that broke out after President Vladimir Putin announced the start of an operation in Ukraine.
On Thursday, February 24, the Central Bank sold up to $2 billion from gold reserves on the stock exchange, PSB analysts estimate. The regulator announced the start of foreign exchange interventions after the dollar jumped to a record high of 89.6 rubles, and the euro almost broke through 100 rubles.
The central bank injected another $5.4 billion into the banking system through currency swap operations. On Thursday, banks took $313.8 million from the regulator with overnight settlements, and on Friday demand jumped 16 times and reached the upper limit set by the Central Bank – $5 billion. The banks took an additional $400 million with a settlement term of „tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”