[ti:Russia's Ruble Partly Recovers as Consumers Spend on Inflation Fears] [ar:Mario Ritter] [al:Economics Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report. [00:04.70]The value of Russia's money [00:07.29]recently dropped by 20 percent in one day. [00:10.83]The ruble soon regains some of its value compared to the dollar. [00:16.11]However, the decreasing value of Russia's money [00:20.09]has raised fears in Moscow of rising prices. [00:23.98]Russia's Central Bank has increased interest rates [00:28.48]to 17 percent in an effort to support the value of the currency. [00:33.92]Russian officials are seeking help [00:37.29]from some of the countries' biggest companies. [00:40.33]In December, [00:42.02]Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev [00:45.02]met with the heads of export businesses, [00:48.30]including the energy companies Rosneft and Gazprom. [00:53.20]He urged exporters to sell their foreign currency earnings, [00:58.30]rather than save them, [01:00.28]in an effort to support Russia's currency. [01:03.38]But not everyone is hurt by the ruble's decrease. [01:07.92]Andrei Braginsky is a director of communications [01:12.85]for Moscow Exchange. [01:14.81]He says not all companies are suffering [01:18.75]because of the falling value of the ruble. [01:22.01]"I think it really depends on company by company. [01:26.56]Those exporters that have revenue in foreign currency and, [01:32.62]of course, in rubles, [01:33.63]they are not actually suffering that significantly," Braginsky said. [01:36.41]Russian exporters are paid in foreign currency, [01:40.57]and can make gains when the ruble's value is low. [01:44.31]Importers, however, [01:46.62]suffer the most when their currency decreases in value, [01:50.43]because foreign goods cost them more. [01:53.93]The U.S. computer company Apple [01:57.63]halted online sales of its product in Russia [02:01.38]to prevent losses from the exchange rate [02:04.51]between the dollar and the ruble. [02:06.66]Russians looking for goods at stores in Moscow [02:10.94]are buying them up because they are expecting price increases. [02:15.78]"Now, consumers are buying hectically. [02:21.03]Because Russia largely [relies] on imported goods. [02:26.07]There are a lot of stocks which were brought [02:29.03]into the country at different currency levels. [02:31.10]So, people are buying iPhones, [02:33.14]they're buying imported cars, [02:35.07]and the clothes, [02:36.49]and everything they could buy still at old prices. [02:40.94]So, it's a -- short-term at least, [02:43.06]it's a consumer boom," Braginsky said. [02:44.20]Financial experts say the ruble's drop in value [02:47.46]is not only affect the price buyers pay for goods. [02:51.22]It also makes it more difficult for Russian companies [02:55.73]to pay foreign debts. [02:57.24]This has caused concern that some Russian companies [03:01.76]may default or be unable to make their debt payments. [03:05.83]Falling oil prices and Western restrictions [03:10.81]over Russia's actions in Ukraine [03:13.58]are some of the reasons that the ruble's value has dropped. [03:17.61]In mid-December, [03:19.65]the European Union agreed to increase sanctions against Russia. [03:24.34]They include restrictions on finance and tourism in Crimea. [03:30.01]But economists say Russia faces a more basic problem -- [03:35.64]its inability to use oil money to widen its economic activities [03:41.66]and gain foreign investment. [03:44.25]And that is the Economics Report from VOA Learning English. [03:50.11]I'm Mario Ritter. [03:53.02]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51voa.com