Business
Russia's Rusal blames high interest rates, strong rouble for first-quarter loss
Russia's Rusal blames high interest rates, strong rouble for first-quarter loss
About this update from Rusal
Russian aluminium maker Rusal on Monday blamed high interest rates and a strong rouble for its unspecified first-quarter loss, which it recorded despite a sharp rise in global prices for the metal.Prices hit a four-year high last week as a result of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which up to 9% of the global aluminium trade passes."Rusal cannot take advantage of the current pricing conditions...as all the margins go to companies from Europe and North America," the company said in a statement on Monday.Rusal said that high interest rates on bank loans, taken to modernise two of its major plants in Siberia, were affecting the company's earnings, as was what it called an "overly strong" rouble.The company does not routinely publish quarterly results. It posted a $500 million annual loss for 2025. Rusal stressed that it does not receive resource rent in Russia since 75% of raw material it uses to produce aluminium is imported.Russia's central bank hiked its key interest rate to 21% in 2024 to combat economic overheating and high inflation. Although it has gradually reduced that to 15%, it is still above the 12% seen as a comfortable level by businesses to resume investment. The central bank's next rate-setting meeting is scheduled for April 24.Rusal's founder, Oleg Deripaska, is one of the harshest critics of the central bank's monetary policy.The rouble, supported by higher oil prices and the government's temporary withdrawal from the forex market, strengthened to its highest level against the U.S. dollar since May 2023 last week and is up by 7.3% against the dollar so far in April.