MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. The ruble’s depreciation against the US dollar has affected the life of 48% of Russian citizens, according to a poll released by the Central Bank of Russia on Tuesday.
As many as 2,000 respondents from 43 Russian regions covered by the poll spoke about rising retail prices of goods and services, the need of considerable spending cuts and about their depreciating savings.
Under the poll, 57% of the respondents believe that the ruble’s further possible decline will continue negatively affecting their life.
“Actually all the indicators characterizing Russians’ borrowing and saving guidelines have deteriorated sharply,” the Central Bank of Russia said in its survey.
Specifically, the share of Russians considering the current period as bad for purchases on credit has risen to its maximum level of 48% for the past four years.
The survey has also registered a sharp increase in the number of Russians who consider the current situation as unfavorable for savings.
The share of people trusting the ruble as a currency for savings has fallen to its minimum level on record (62%), the survey showed.
The share of people who believe that it is best of all to keep money on bank accounts continues falling gradually. The number of people who say they have savings has also declined, the survey said.
The Russian Central Bank conducted its survey on December 8-15, 2014.