Rouble rebounds from brink but Russians wary

Moscow

RUSSIANS sighed with relief when the rouble rebounded in recent days, but with painful memories of the financial crisis still fresh, many are rattled and fear the respite could prove short-lived.

The rouble has been sliding for months, but it turned into a plunge at the beginning of the month, with the currency losing nearly 10 per cent of its value in the space of just a few days amid renewed tensions over Ukraine and a fall in global oil prices that threatens Russia's finances.

"I was scared," said Natalia, a 26-year-old Muscovite. "At first, I thought it was about (forex) speculation and that it would right itself. But now there is great uncertainty."

The rouble has now shed a quarter of its value against the euro and almost a third against the dollar since the beginning of the year, crimping the purchasing power of Russian consumers and putting the worth of sav…