British Chancellor Rishi Sunak along with Bank of England (BOE) Governor Andrew Bailey announced the UK government's intention to take further restrictive economic measures in response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia by targeting the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR).

Key takeaways

“To prevent the CBR from deploying its foreign reserves in ways that undermine the impact of sanctions imposed by us and our allies, and to undercut its ability to engage in foreign exchange transactions to support the Russian rouble.”

“The UK Government will immediately take all necessary steps to bring into effect restrictions to prohibit any UK natural or legal persons from undertaking financial transactions involving the CBR, the Russian National Wealth Fund, and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation.”

Market reaction

The US dollar remains on the front foot amid broad risk-aversion while the S&P 500 futures shed over 2% so far this Monday.