Russia’s currency war flounders with central bank on the fence

Ruble rouser: A vendor of cedar cones counts ruble banknotes at a street market in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. The Finance Ministry has tried a number of measures to weaken the ruble, the strength of which has hurt Russian exporters. – Reuters

MOSCOW: Russia’s latest effort to talk down its currency is misfiring, leaving the ball in the central bank’s court days before it reviews interest rates.

A warning by Finance Minister Anton Siluanov that the ruble’s current level is about 10%-12% “overvalued compared to fundamental valuations” barely registered with investors. Similar comments a week ago by the economy minister – who pointed out that its strength exceeded fundamentals – and Siluanov’s own remarks early this month that the exchange rate was “attractive” for buying foreign currency, have done little to take the edge off the ruble’s rally.