The Moscow Stock Exchange has partially reopened after a nearly month-long hiatus due to the war in Ukraine.
As part of a phased reopening of the market, only bonds issued by the Russian government can be traded.
The stock market closed hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin dispatched thousands of troops to Ukraine on February 24.
Andrei Braginsky, a spokesman for the Moscow Stock Exchange, said he hoped stock trading could resume soon.
“Technically everything is ready and we hope this will resume in the near future,” he said.
The market reopened at 13:00 (10:00 GMT) but only for OFZ bonds – the Russian acronym for Federal Loan Obligations.
In premarket trading, yields on these government bonds are up almost 20% – the highest on record. A higher yield means the government has to pay more to borrow and indicates the investment is riskier. The yield later leveled off at nearly 13% after the start of trading.
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Central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina said on Friday the bank would keep interest rates at 20% and buy government bonds to limit volatility.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose more than $3 on Monday, with Brent crude climbing above $111 a barrel.
Prices rose on reports that the EU is considering joining the US in imposing an oil embargo on Russia. The European Commission said earlier this month it intends to make Europe independent of Russian fossil fuels “well before 2030”.
The invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions imposed by Western governments are taking their toll on the Russian economy.
The Russian ruble was steady against the dollar on Monday, trading at RUB 104.83. However, it has fallen by about a quarter since the invasion began.
Some supermarkets are rationing the sale of staples like salt and cooking oil.
Four days after Moscow began military action in Ukraine, the central bank more than doubled interest rates to 20%. The continuation of the conflict and the tightening of sanctions have further eroded confidence.
There were concerns that Russia would default on its debt, but it paid $117 million in interest on two dollar-denominated bonds last week.
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