Just keeps going downhill... 'Another bad sign' for Russian economy as oligarchs flee country after Ruble downfall EXCLUSIVE: The Russian economy continues to be badly hit by Western sanctions, the downfall of the ruble and the cost of war. Now it is also facing a further drain of capital as oligarchs are fleeing the country. https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1791007/russia-economy-ruble-oligarchs-putin
Russia's economy has gone from bad to worse in a matter of months. Here's where the country is feeling pain the most. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...-country-is-feeling-pain-the-most/ar-AA1dVGFB Russia's economy is going from bad to worse as Western sanctions hammer the country's key sectors. From slumping car sales to a plunging Russia ruble, the problems Russia faces keep on growing. Here are key signs showing how Moscow's economy is spiraling. Russia's economy just keeps getting worse – and there are plenty of ways to show that. From plunging car sales to a dramatic collapse in its current-account surplus, there's no way to hide Moscow's troubles. The country's economic woes have multiplied since its invasion of Ukraine early last year. The conflict has triggered a wave of sanctions from the Western world. Some have even blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for inflicting so much pain on the nation, with Yale researchers saying he's "cannibalizing" Russia's economy in his urge to conquer Ukraine. "The lion's share of the economy is controlled by the state, the energy and financial sectors, and Putin is taking from the seed capital of those businesses to use as a cookie jar for his war chest," researchers Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian said. Russians are buying fewer cars Russia's car industry is one part of the economy that's being squeezed. Insider's Phil Rosen reported that car sales in Moscow have tanked by nearly 75% since the Ukraine war broke out. The decline has been fueled by a mix of three factors: soaring prices, decreasing supply, and deteriorating consumer sentiment. "Russians are just buying less cars, period," Tian said. "That speaks to the weakness of the consumer in Russia. This is as close to a proxy to deteriorating consumer sentiment as there is, and the story it tells is profoundly distressing. Russians just aren't spending money." At the same time, the number of Russians buying foreign-branded cars – typically viewed as luxury purchases – has neared a standstill. Instead, consumers are buying locally sourced cars, many of which are riddled with mechanical issues. Plunging exports Another sign that Russia's economy is flailing is the dramatic collapse in its current-account balance. Moscow's central bank posted a 93% year-on-year drop in its current-account surplus for the April-June quarter. it fell from a record $76.7 billion to $5.4 billion. The rough financials show how badly Western sanctions are biting the country, particularly its key energy sector where its oil-and-gas exports have taken a huge hit after price caps and bans were imposed. Energy export revenue Moscow garners a big chunk of its revenue from sales of oil and gas products, but Western penalties have eroded that income stream. In June, Russia's Finance Ministry said that revenue from oil-and-gas taxes fell 36% compared to a year ago to about 571 billion rubles, and that profits from crude and petroleum products tumbled 31% to 426 billion rubles. Ruble in freefall Adding to Russia's troubles is a tumbling ruble. The country's currency slumped to a 15-month low of 94.48 against the dollar earlier in July, triggered by capital flight, shrinking tax revenues, and declining central-bank reserves. "The ruble doesn't have anywhere to go but down," Konstantin Sonin, a University of Chicago economist, said in a tweet. Concerns about the currency's volatility have prompted a wave of domestic withdrawals from the country's central bank, amounting to over $1 billion. The bank run was mainly fueled by the recent Wagner revolt. Russia's weakening currency has forced the country to take desperate measures. Recently, Russia's foreign minister urged Southeast Asian countries to dump the dollar and use local currencies to conduct trade.
Putin is helping improve the economy in other countries -- as the dictator sinks Russia down the flusher. Hundreds of thousands of people fled Russia after it invaded Ukraine — and now the countries that took them in are seeing a boost in their economies https://news.yahoo.com/hundreds-thousands-people-fled-russia-095327835.html
Russia's economy swirls down the toilet. ‘It’s guns versus butter’: Russia on the brink as Putin’s war chest empties Kremlin's fortunes crumble as oil profits plunge and the workforce flees conscription https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/07/24/russia-economy-putin-war-cost-oil-revenues/
Welcome to Zimbabwe style inflation. Russian inflation is raging at 60%, not the reported 3.6%, thanks to the ruble's 'freefall', top economist Steve Hanke says https://markets.businessinsider.com...n-60-percent-falling-ruble-steve-hanke-2023-7 Russian inflation is soaring at extreme levels thanks to a steep slide in the ruble's exchange rate, according to Steve Hanke. The economist estimated Russia's current annual inflation at 60%, almost 17 times the level reported by the central bank. "The ruble's FREE-FALL is fueling RAGING INFLATION in Russia," the Johns Hopkins professor said. (More at above url)
Russia Loses Record $253Bln in Wartime Capital Flight https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023...sures-to-drone-attacks-a81949#google_vignette A record $253 billion has been pulled out of Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Russian Central Bank has said. The net capital outflow from Russia starting February 2022 and ending June 2023 was calculated by the Bank’s Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Forecasting. “Net inflows on current transaction accounts [of $236 billion] and net outflows on financial accounts have reached unprecedented levels,” the Bank’s experts said in their analysis published Monday. The flight of $239 billion from Russia last year, including $13 billion in the pre-invasion month of January, was four times the amount that was pulled out of the country in 2021, according to the analysis. Another $27 billion has been taken out of Russia so far in 2023. The rate of capital flight relative to GDP hit 13% in 2022, breaking the previous record of 11% seen both during the 2008 global financial crisis and after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, according to The Moscow Times’ Russian service. The average rate of capital outflow over the previous 13 years stood at 5%, according to MT Russian. The movement of funds reached record levels despite Western sanctions complicating transactions and the Russian Central Bank’s restrictions on foreign cash withdrawals.
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Russian-Crude-Oil-Exports-Continue-To-Plunge.html Russian Crude Oil Exports Continue To Plunge