According to data published by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Russians significantly cut their foreign exchange purchases in the second quarter of 2023. The net volume of foreign exchange bought by citizens fell to ₽62 billion, down from ₽256 billion in the first quarter. This information is reported in the section titled “Overview of key indicators of professional participants in the securities market,” which appears on the central bank’s official website. [Source: Central Bank of the Russian Federation]
The drop in purchases came amid a weakening ruble. During the same period, net dollar sales on the Moscow Exchange reached ₽19 billion, while net euro purchases totaled ₽76 billion. [Source: Central Bank of the Russian Federation]
Analysts note strong demand for the yuan, driven largely by arbitrage activities. Because of sanctions, certain large market participants face restrictions on dealing with dollars and euros. This has contributed to reduced liquidity in those currencies and increased liquidity for the yuan. [Source: Central Bank of the Russian Federation]
Even though overall foreign currency purchases still exceed sales, the balances of foreign currency held by citizens continued to decline. The currencies acquired are frequently moved to foreign accounts, including payments for imports. [Source: Central Bank of the Russian Federation]
There were reports last week of inconvenience associated with transferring funds to one of the CIS member states. [Source: Central Bank of the Russian Federation]
Questions about how many Russians were previously known to hold dollar savings have been publicly addressed with denial. [Source: Central Bank of the Russian Federation]