Capital controls: prudent or desperation

Capital controls are being put in place in Countries like Azerbaijan don't cause too much concern to the overall markets but this could be a case study for other countries dealing with the same issues; with market moving influence. Saudi Arabia has recently advised bank not to engage in forward contracts on the riyal. Russia has been briefed by one of its top economic advisors to provide some form of support to the rouble, in the form of controls of purchases.

The Saudi's determination to keep the dollar peg despite the strain on the country is being challenged by some investors. This is causing the government to try to move towards supporting the peg without looking desperate. A true crisis of confidence can be devastating at this moment and the Saudis are truly being challenged. With a War in Yemen being the main focus the US and France are looking to get more involvement and support from countries like Saudi Arabia in the fight against Assad and ISIS in the north. This will cause a war on two fronts and strain the current military without more spending on equipment and troops. Failure for them to commit will show the strain and weaken confidence that they can fight the war against terrorism in the south and the war against losing market share in the west.

​Russia has seen its currency move below the level seen in a brief drop at the end of 2014. This is on the news by the Russian central bank chief saying there will be no intervention to support the rouble and the bank will only intervene if there was a threat to financial stability. Oil prices and sanctions will be dictating the threat to financial stability and the Russian government will have to react. At this point the selloff in Russian equities and the currency have priced in the worst case scenario and any stimulus would be a lifting sign. With oil low and regional tensions high, the worst case scenario could still surprise.