The Russians rushed to massively sell the currency against the backdrop of the collapse of the ruble. The volume of exchange has almost doubled. MK in St. Petersburg talked to Natalya Akindinova, director of the Institute for Development Center at the Higher School of Economics, and found out what this financial behavior is connected with and what can be expected in the future.
According to the economist, many savers are simply looking to take profits while the dollar is high. At the same time, Russians are gripped by concerns about geopolitical tensions. The United States threatens the country with sanctions in the event of a war with Ukraine. In particular, we are talking about the closure of foreign exchange transactions for Russian banks.
However, abrupt changes in the form of assets at the peak of volatility is not the best tactic, the expert warns. There is a lot to lose in this financial pursuit.
“Therefore, it is better to stick to a longer-term strategy of asset diversification, that is, the use of different financial instruments, currencies. It is important to combine instruments with low risk so that there is a sufficiently large share in the portfolio, but at the same time the value of the instruments cannot fall sharply. For example, now there are investment accounts where citizens can invest in stocks, which have even more volatility than the currency. Such deposits should not contain most of the savings. Only what you can risk “, the expert advises.
So far, it is impossible to give a forecast on the dynamics of the exchange rate, because it directly depends on foreign policy decisions. However, in the medium term, the ruble should get stronger, the economist believes.
The dollar is always gaining strength against the backdrop of political tension, the rate is growing with the general expectation of a crisis. Earlier, political scientist Dmitry Zhuravlev told MK in St. Petersburg how the geopolitical situation affects the Russian economy and whether there is a chance to reach agreements with the West.