Putin: Russia to Keep Ruble's Floating Rate, Seeking Market Tools

The Russian government is not going to give up the ruble's floating rate and is seeking market tools for influencing it, Vladimir Putin said.

RYBINSK (Sputnik) — The Russian authorities do not have plans to give up the Russian ruble's floating exchange rate, President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.

"The stability of the national currency is important. In conditions of a floating exchange rate, and we do not intend to give it up, I want it to be clear, because we have too many risks, and if we go back and try to regulate the rate by non-market means… we will see to which extent the Central Bank and the government will manage to ensure this stability," Putin said at a meeting with businessmen in the Yaroslavl region.

In November 2014, Russia's Central Bank cancelled the non-limited exchange rate interventions, effectively free-floating the national currency.

In January 2015, the Russian government announced an anti-crisis plan to stabilize the economy by 2017 amid a global slump in oil prices. After three months, the Russian national currency began to strengthen against the dollar and the euro.