Russia’s currency surged Monday to a high not seen for several years, just months after President Joe Biden said his administration’s sanctions on the country have “caused the Russian economy to crater.”
The ruble rose to a 7-year high against the euro Monday, jumping 6%, according to Reuters. (RELATED: Russia Expects To Get Richer Despite Being Slapped With Western Sanctions)
“Russia’s ruble strengthens to 57.1 per US Dollar, its strongest in over four years,” the Spectator Index said Monday.
“Capital controls, collapsing imports and surging energy prices” contributed to the ruble rising to levels stronger than before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg reported.
Biden said the administration is “enforcing an enormous package of economic sanctions that has caused the Russian economy to crater” in March, nearly two weeks after Russia began its invasion on Ukraine. (RELATED: Russia Sanctioned 398 Members Of Congress. Here’s How They Reacted)
We are enforcing an enormous package of economic sanctions that has caused the Russian economy to crater.
The Russian ruble is down almost 50 percent since Putin announced his war.
It is now worth less than one American penny.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 8, 2022
“It is now worth less than one American penny,” Biden tweeted at the time.
Biden also stated March 24 that the sanctions against Russia were never meant to “deter” Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The ruble had initially plummeted to record lows Feb. 28, four days after the invasion — falling as much as 29%.
The U.S. has issued several sanctions on Russia for its war on Ukraine, including blocking Russian ships from entering U.S. ports, banning Russian flights, sanctioning members of the Russian Duma and Russian oligarchs and banning Russian oil imports. The administration has also sanctioned Russian banks and removed certain ones from SWIFT, the worldwide financial messaging system.