MOSCOW—Russian ratings agency ACRA estimates that the country’s banks imported $5 billion worth of banknotes in foreign currencies in December, up from $2.65 billion a year before, in a preemptive step in case of sanctions creating increased demand.
Dollars traditionally dominate such imports which, along with other currencies, many Russians like to hold as a hedge against any drop in the value of the rouble or rise in inflation, both potential outcomes of foreign sanctions.
