Rouble drops further after ratings cut

The rouble is continuing to fall after a top ratings agency cut Russia’s credit rating to junk status.

A day after a top ratings agency cut Russia’s rating to junk level, the government in Moscow has announced a plan which will see the economy return to a budget surplus in 2017.

Standard & Poor’s downgraded Russia’s rating to BB-plus late yesterday, a non-investment grade, for the first time since 2004, citing a slide in the rouble and weakening revenue from oil exports. The agency said Russia’s financial system is weakening, limiting room for manoeuvre for Russia’s Central Bank.