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Russia’s financial markets rebound to pre-sanctions levels - minister

According to Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, the Russian government has a good understanding of how to act amid various restrictions

MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. Russia’s financial markets have recovered to levels that preceded the latest round of US sanctions against Moscow, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

"We had to face new sanctions, and we saw the market’s reaction. It was quite calm. Initially, we could see certain volatility on the market of securities, which was reflected in the ruble-dollar rate, and in the ruble’s rate against other currencies. At the same time, we can see now that the situation is back to normal, and the volatility observed in the first hours that followed the announcement has been reduced to minimum as of now. Market positions have returned to levels that preceded the announcement of sanctions," the minister said.

According to Siluanov, the Russian government has a good understanding of how to act amid various restrictions.

"The rhetoric of sanctions has been in place for several years already, and we know how to act amid various restrictions. This applies to restrictions imposed on various sectors of the economy. This applies to the financial market sector, too. We faced restrictions imposed on external debt and dollar loans before. Nevertheless, we managed to fulfill all our plans and programs, and the same will happen this year," he said.

On April 15, Siluanov said the US sanctions on the Russian government debt may imply lost profits for US financial institutions, because Russian investors prevail in the segment of federal loan bonds (OFZ). According to him, the Russian financial market has enough tools to ensure stability and they will be used if necessary. Earlier, the US Treasury Department announced that it was imposing sanctions on a number of certain transactions with Russian sovereign debt.