Net purchases of foreign currency by Russians fell sharply in August

Net purchases of foreign currency by individuals fell sharply in August, Central Bank data shows.

Russians began to buy less currency as the ruble weakened against the dollar last month by 7.2 percent. As a result, the figure amounted to 74 billion rubles against July 97.2 billion, with an average of 87.9 billion rubles for the previous 12 months.

“In August, the growth of foreign currency exchange rates against the ruble accelerated, which was accompanied by an increase in volatility in the market,” the Central Bank stated.

The authors of the review of financial market risks also clarified that in general, since the beginning of the year, citizens have bought currencies worth 597 billion rubles, while for the comparable period in 2024 and 2025 - by 1.11 trillion and 673 billion rubles, respectively.