Falling oil prices are one of the three main reasons for the ruble's plunge.
Experts say that the collapse of international oil prices, western sanctions against Russia and the impact of a strong dollar on emerging markets are the three main reasons for this round of ruble collapse.
Joseph Broussous Eiras, chief economist of American consulting firm MacLary ·LLP, said that the devaluation of the ruble is directly related to the recent drop in oil prices, and the Russian economy is heavily dependent on oil exports. Oil is an important source of tax revenue for the Russian government, and the falling oil price has also reduced the Russian government's ability to support its own currency.
Robert Savage, CEO of CCTrack, a hedge fund owned by CITIC Capital, believes that the sanctions imposed by Europe and the United States on Russia have restricted Russia's financing. Although Russia has a large amount of foreign exchange reserves, on the one hand, it has to support the falling ruble, on the other hand, it has to pay foreign debts denominated in dollars, which makes Russia stretched.
In addition, the strength of the US dollar has also put pressure on the currencies of emerging economies, including the ruble. Savage said that because of the different economic situation, the interest rates in the United States and Europe are completely opposite. The market expects that American interest rates will rise and European interest rates will fall. The expectation of the market and the sustained recovery of the US economy make the US dollar appreciate continuously, and international capital begins to flow back to the US from emerging markets. The currencies of Russia and other countries are facing downside risks. When the market's worries about the ruble intensify, the risk of capital flight will also increase, investors' panic will further heat up and the ruble's plunge will be inevitable.
The plunge in the ruble has also triggered speculation about whether there are investment institutions shorting. In this regard, Wall Street people pointed out that speculation only accounts for a small part of the reasons for the ruble's decline. At present, the market liquidity is insufficient, and there is no phenomenon that investment institutions short the ruble on a large scale.
Some domestic enterprises exporting to Russia may be affected.
Will the collapse of the ruble exchange rate affect our market? Insiders said that some domestic enterprises with a large proportion of exports to Russia may be affected.
Xu Peng of Datong Securities said that in China's export share to Russia, light industrial products such as clothing, shoes and leather are more traditional. In addition, the proportion of electromechanical exports is also large. Judging from the rising speed, the export of China's automobile industry to Russia is occupying an increasing proportion.
Only from the field of family cars, there are more than 10 domestic family car brand enterprises exported to Russia. The highest annual sales volume is close to 25,000 vehicles, and the decline of the ruble will undoubtedly hit these export car companies-after all, local sales are settled in rubles, and the collapse of the ruble will cause obvious exchange losses to these companies. As of yesterday, some car companies listed in Hong Kong have issued profit warnings, saying that this year's net profit will drop sharply, and the performance of the stock in the Hong Kong market is also very bleak.
The plunge of ruble will inevitably bring a blow to traditional light industrial products. UBS Investment Liu Dongsheng advises investors to pay attention to risks in the short term if they find that the main business of individual stocks in their hands includes projects exported to Russia.
Will the ruble plunge have a positive impact on domestic related enterprises? Liu Dongsheng believes that although the falling ruble exchange rate means that goods can be bought from Russia at a lower price, this sharp decline will put the relevant economies into a state of "shock", and the goods imported from Russia, such as chemicals, logs, pulp and electronic goods, may come to a standstill.
"Overall, the ruble exchange rate plunge is still at the level of short-term impact, and there is no sign of a substantial impact on the domestic real economy." Xu Peng said.