Apple Halts Online Sales in Russia Over Ruble Instability

Screen grab of Apple's Russian online store.

The technological giant Apple has temporarily suspended online sales in Russia, because of the instability of the ruble, reports Bloomberg.

"Our online store in Russia is currently unavailable while we review pricing," Alan Hely, spokesperson of AppleĀ told Bloomberg in an e-mail on Tuesday. "We apologise to customers for any inconvenience."

According to BBC, last month Apple increased its prices in Russia by 20% after the weakening ruble left products in the country cheaper than in the rest of Europe.

Over the last twelve months the value of the ruble has plunged more than 50 percent against the dollar, destabilising the Russian economy.

At some point on Tuesday the ruble briefly reached the record high in recent years of 100 rubles for an euro and 80 rubles for a US dollar.

Overall, the ruble has lost more than 20% this week, despite a dramatic decision of the Russian Central Bank to raise interest rates from 10.5% to 17%.

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