New US sanctions against Russia have caused an immediate suspension of trading in dollars and euros on the country’s leading financial marketplace, the Moscow Exchange.

The exchange, also known as MOEX, and the Russian central bank rushed out statements Wednesday, a public holiday in Russia, within an hour of Washington announcing a new round of sanctions aimed at cutting the flow of money and goods to sustain Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The move means banks, companies and investors will no longer be able to trade either currency via a central exchange, which offers advantages such as better liquidity and oversight.

Many Russians hold savings in dollars or euros, mindful of periodic crises in recent decades when the ruble has crashed in value.

The US Treasury said it was “targeting the architecture of Russia’s financial system, which has been reoriented to facilitate investment into its defense industry and acquisition of goods needed to further its aggression against Ukraine.”

In July 2022, the bank said it was modeling various sanctions scenarios with foreign exchange market participants and infrastructure organizations.

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[–] Lotarion 1 points 5 months ago

Good bot.

I dunno if we have bot rank on Lemmy yet, but idc