Photo: ANP
The Russian Central Bank decided that the Moscow Stock Exchange would also remain closed on Wednesday. Since February 28, shares can no longer be traded on that stock exchange, in order to protect domestic investors from big losses as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. From Wednesday, it will be possible for Russians to exchange rubles again, something that has been temporarily banned.
The Russian Central Bank decided to suspend stock trading after the main index of the Moscow Stock Exchange suffered a record loss. But Russian companies also listed on the London Stock Exchange have lost 90 percent of their value since Russia’s attack on Ukraine and subsequent economic sanctions.
The US and UK are trying to deal another economic blow to President Vladimir Putin’s government. Americans will no longer import oil, gas and coal from Russia. Britain wants to stop oil imports from Russia later this year. These sanctions come in addition to measures that would harm Russian banks. A number of banks in the country have been banned from the international financial sector messaging system SWIFT, which has made it more difficult to transact.
