Russian Finance Ministry Halts Forex, Gold Purchases for 2022

Arrangement of various world currencies including Chinese yuan, U.S. dollar, Euro, British pound, pictured on Jan. 25, 2011. (Kacper Pempel/Illustration/Reuters)

MOSCOW—Russia’s finance ministry said on Thursday that it was halting purchases of foreign currency and gold for this year as part of a suspension of parts of its fiscal rule relating to the use of extra oil and gas revenues.

Under a rule adopted in 2017, Russia buys foreign currency when oil prices are high and sells when prices go below $44 per barrel, shielding the rouble from oil price swings.