The Moscow Stock Exchange (MOEX) suspended trading in dollars and euros on Wednesday June 12, 2024. A decision motivated by a new package of sanctions unveiled by the US Treasury earlier today.
The suspension affects trading in precious and foreign metals as well as trading in stocks and currencies on Russia’s largest public markets, MOEX notes in a statement. With the exception of dollars and euros, all other financial instruments remain operational.
The derivatives market was also unaffected by these changes, with trading continuing as usual, according to MOEX.
The Central Bank of Russia elaborated on the issue in a separate statement, explaining that “transactions in US dollars and euros will continue on the over-the-counter market”. To establish exchange rates, the Bank of Russia will use “bank statements and information from digital over-the-counter trading platforms”, adds the regulator.
Earlier on Wednesday, the US Treasury Department issued a new set of restrictions against Russia, targeting the “fundamental financial infrastructure” of the country. In announcing the plan, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen claimed that Russia had completely moved to a “war economy” and that she was now “deeply isolated” of the international financial system.
“Today’s actions undermine their last options for sourcing international materials and equipment, including their dependence on essential supplies from third countries,” Yellen said.
In addition to MOEX, the sanctions package targeted its two subsidiaries, namely the National Clearing Center (NCC) and the National Settlement Depository (NSD).
The suspension of exchanges of dollars and euros on the platform, which has been booming recently, comes into force on Thursday 13th.
MOEX reported seeing unprecedented private investor activity in February, with a total of 4.1 million people transacting on the platform. Last month, the total trading volume on the platform’s markets amounted to 126.7 trillion rubles ($1.4 trillion), compared to 94.2 trillion ($1 trillion) during the same period last year.
