In a surprise announcement on Monday (15 December), the Russian central bank said it would raise its key interest rate to 17 percent from 10.5 percent.
The move is aimed at shoring up the tumbling currency as the Russian economy feels the pain of a low oil price - oil and gas are Russia's main exports - combined with US and EU sanctions over Russian involvement in the Ukrainian war.
It is the highest interest rate increase since 1998, when the Russian currency collapsed and the go...
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