Putin Turns Up Heat on Ruble Before Central Bank Has Its Say

Not content to wait for the central bank to deliver another dose of monetary easing this week, President Vladimir Putin is making clear Russia still has tools to shape the exchange rate to its liking.

At a meeting with entrepreneurs in the Yaroslavl region on Tuesday, Putin said the government is looking for “market-based measures” to affect the ruble, monitoring what he deemed as the “key” issue of its stability “practically on a daily basis.” While couched in terms of keeping the currency steady, the comments were enough to send the ruble into a steeper decline.