Risk of EU sanctions pushes ruble lower

Макроэкономика 30.01.2015 Yesterday, EU foreign ministers convened to discuss imposing more sanctions on Russia in reaction to its support of pro-Kremlin militants in the Donbas. Although the newly elected Greek government has been pressing the EU to soften its stance toward Russia and the yesterday's meeting of foreign ministers did not bring action, the EU's rhetoric is about to further tighten the sanctions regime. As a result, the Russian ruble tumbled 1.78% to close at 68.97/USD. The hryvnia was down 0.01% in nominal terms and up 0.48% in the trade-weighted terms.