Chief Executive Officer of Russia’s top lender Sberbank expects the trend of weakening ruble to persist in 2016, he said in an interview aired by the Rossiya-24 TV news channel on December 25.
Chief Executive Officer of Russia’s top lender Sberbank expects the trend of weakening ruble to persist in 2016, he said in an interview aired by the Rossiya-24 TV news channel on December 25.
German Gref said: "Oil prices are very tightly bound to the Federal Reserve policy. All key trends are related to further reduction. The dollar is most likely to strengthen. The Federal Reserve will tighten its policy, which means dollars will outflow from the biggest derivatives market, meaning the oil market. From the viewpoint of the monetary environment the oil price will fall, pushing the ruble down".
According to Gref, the difficult situation in the banking sector continues, but 2016 will be easier for the banks: "The most difficult year for banking was 2015. If no further extraordinary events happen next year, this year is likely to be generally easier for the banking sector, not for the economy as a whole".
He expects the price of a barrel of oil in 2016 will hover around the current level of $35-36 dollars "plus or minus 10%."
Economic Times reminds the rouble has lost 52 percent against the dollar since mid-2014 due to weaker oil prices, which hit an 11-year low this week, and Western sanctions over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis which have limited external financing.
