The Russian ruble (RR) has lost 8.3 percent in its value against the Tajik national currency, the somoni (TJS), over the past week.
On March 17, the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) set an official exchange rate of RR against TJS at 1:0.1295 (an 8.3 percent reduction).
Meanwhile, the market exchange rate of RR against TJS fell from 1:0.145 on March 9 to 1:0.130 on March 17 (more than 10 percent reduction).
The exchange rate of the dollar against the somoni remain practically unchanged – 1:9.72.
The Russian ruble depreciated in Tajikistan following the Black Monday (a coronavirus-triggered oil price collapse.
On March 9, while Russian markets were closed following International Women’s Day, the value of the ruble on the online exchange Forex plummeted, leaving the Russian currency at 75 per dollar and 85 per euro. When the Moscow Exchange closed on March 6, it only took 68 rubles to buy a dollar and 80 to buy a euro.
The ruble’s rapid depreciation was caused by a collapse in oil prices in the morning of March 9: The cost of oil fell by 25 percent, the largest single-day change in the 21st century so far.
The current exchange rate of RR against USD is 74.3:1.
