Updated Feb 28, 2022 - Economy & Business
Russia's central bank doubles interest rates to 20%
People line up at a bank in Moscow on Thursday. Photo: Vladimir Gerdo/TASS via Getty Images
Russia's central bank increased interest rates on Monday from 9.5% to 20% after the country's currency, the ruble, plummeted following a raft of new sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
The big picture: The Bank of Russia also announced a series of measures in response to the sanctions — including that brokers must "suspend the execution of all orders by foreign legal entities and persons who want to sell off their Russian investments, such as stocks and shares," per a BBC translation.
- The central bank said in a statement that "trading on the foreign exchange market, money market, repo market of the Moscow Exchange will open" on Monday morning.
- It was also resuming buying gold on the domestic market, according to a separate statement.
Go deeper: The latest on the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Editor's note: This article has been updated with details of the interest rate increase.