Russia faces dropping currency reserves, high inflation and food shortages

Russia’s international reserves, liquid foreign assets managed by the Central Bank of Russia, fell by $5.4 billion to $369.2 billion in the week of Oct. 23-30, Tass, a state-owned news agency, reported Thursday. This was the official numbers and the real numbers are a lot worse. Many of the reserves may not be actually available.

Alongside the drop in international reserves, other indicators of Russia’s slump included a 10 percent reduction in retail sales while inflation hovered around 16 percent.

Authorities in Russia said they were fearful of shortages when it came to basic food supplies, such as meat and cheese. The country could see a shortage of meat and dairy in 2016, according to a report released by Russian news agency Ria Novosti Wednesday, as a result of ongoing sanctions.