... individual internal circumstances. In the longer term, the dynamics of emerging market currencies will depend on investors' risk appetite and decisions from leading central banks. Russia: Rate Cut Effect and Corporate Signals For the Russian financial market, the week ended with a major event – the Bank of Russia significantly reduced the key rate. The regulator's decision following the meeting on July 25 to lower the rate by 2 percentage points (from 20% to 18% per annum) was more decisive than most analysts had projected. This move was facilitated by ongoing inflation slowdown: annual price growth ...

... key rate cut by 200 bps only moderately reduced the attractiveness of ruble assets – outflows of speculative capital were small, as this step was expected and already priced in. The sale of export currency earnings and selective interventions by the regulator smooth out fluctuations, providing relative stability for the ruble even with a shrinking interest rate differential. Volatility in the Russian currency market has significantly decreased compared to the beginning of the year. The macroeconomic conditions in Russia are gradually improving after last year’s upheavals. Annual inflation has slowed to ~7.5% (compared to >12% last winter), allowing the ...

... with providing empty tank wagons to suppliers persist. Essentially, refineries are producing enough fuel, but RZD is delivering it irregularly, creating logistical challenges, the expert believes. Sergey Tereshkin, General Director of the OPEN OIL MARKET petroleum product marketplace, notes that regulators cannot avoid lifting the export ban, as by the end of December, the current restrictions will have been in place for five months. In comparison, the previous ban introduced on March 1, 2024, lasted just two and a half months (from March 1 to ...

... the ecosystem. The European Commission has officially launched the Scaleup Europe program – a fund of approximately €10 billion to support rapidly growing tech companies, aimed at easing their scaling without the need to move to Silicon Valley. Regulators are also relaxing requirements and encouraging government procurement of innovations to retain startups in the region. Meanwhile, the M&A market in Europe is reviving: in the second quarter, there were 172 startup acquisition deals worth approximately $7.2 billion. This indicates that large corporations and funds are beginning to actively acquire European companies, providing investors ...

... per barrel (the highest since late June) amid ongoing geopolitical risks and strong seasonal demand. The European gas market remains relatively calm due to record replenishment of fuel stocks in underground storage ahead of winter. At the same time, regulators and market participants are taking measures to maintain balance: as of August 1, the OPEC+ alliance has initiated a planned increase in oil production to avoid supply shortages, while the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged ...