Dear members,

Please kindly refer to the AEB Daily Update below.

Exchange rate

$: 76,01 RUR ⇑
€: 90,28 RUR ⇑
¥: 10,93 CNY ⇑

О&G prices

Brent (barrel): $ 65,62 ⇓
Urals (barrel): $ 55,51 ⇑
Natural Gas: $ 6,63 ⇑

Key rates

CBR:16% ⇓
ECB: 2,65% (fixed rate) ⇓
FED: 3,5-3,75% (actual) ⇓

Politics

The EU Council has approved a ban on Russian gas supplies from 2027

26.01.26 | The EU Council has finally approved a complete ban on the supply of Russian LNG to the EU from January 1, 2027, and pipeline gas from September 30, 2027. This is stated in the statement of the EU Council.

Volodin opened a collection of questions to the government's report in the State Duma

26.01.26 | Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin opened a collection of questions and topics for discussion during the government's report to the State Duma for 2025.

Aksakov said about the growing risks of using Visa and Mastercard cards

26.01.26 | Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, told TASS that the risks of using Visa and Mastercard cards are increasing as their terms of use have expired.

Economy

The price expectations of Russian enterprises in January updated the local maximum

26.01.26 | The price expectations of enterprises in January increased for the fourth month in a row, exceeding the marks of the end of 2024 and updating the local maximum from April 2022, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation said in a commentary on the survey of companies.

Autostat: global car sales increased by 3.6% in 2025%

26.01.26 | Sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles worldwide by the end of 2025 amounted to 91.9 million, which is 3.6% higher than the previous year, Autostat reported. China remains the world leader in car sales.

Siluanov noted the steady growth of the insurance market

26.01.26 | Anton Siluanov, Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation, considers the growth of the Russian insurance market to be sustainable. He stated this following a meeting on key areas of insurance activity.

The number of company bankruptcies in the Russian Federation in 2025 decreased to a historical minimum

26.01.26 | In 2025, the courts declared 6477 companies bankrupt, which is 24.3% less than a year earlier, and this figure is the lowest in 10 years of data collection, according to Fedresurs statistics (Unified Federal Register of Bankruptcy Information, fedresurs.ru ), compiled on the basis of reports from the arbitration managers.

The average annual deposit rate in banks dropped below 13%

26.01.26 |The average annual deposit rate in the 20 largest banks in the Russian Federation by volume of retail deposit portfolio decreased to 12.98% as of January 26. In January 2026, it decreased by 0.27 percentage points (pp), the press service of the financial marketplace Finuslugi reported.

Business

The number of open companies in 2025 was the lowest in 14 years

26.01.26 | In Russia, 173,000 legal entities were registered in 2025, which is 20% less than last year. The number of companies that opened last year was the lowest in the last 14 years.

Society

Three of the four options for the development of artificial intelligence involve the displacement of personnel

26.01.26 | Experts from the World Economic Forum (WEF) presented scenarios for changing the global labor market by 2030, depending on the pace of development of artificial intelligence (AI) and the ability of workers to use its capabilities. Only one of the four options assumes not a significant, but a limited displacement of personnel by AI technologies.

In Russia, the total fertility rate decreased in 2025

26.01.26 | In December 2025, the total fertility rate (TFR) in Russia was 1.374 against 1.4 in the previous year, according to Rosstat data reviewed by Vedomosti. The maximum value of the TFR in Russia was recorded in 2015. Then the coefficient was 1.77.

International

Trump announced an increase in duties for South Korea to 25%

27.01.26 | US President Donald Trump announced that he was increasing duties on goods from South Korea from 15% to 25%. According to the American leader, the South Korean legislature is not fulfilling its obligations to Washington.

Kazakhstan to introduce additional scrap collection for Russian agricultural machinery

26.01.26 | Kazakhstan will introduce additional recycling for agricultural machinery imported from Russia and Belarus, the Ministry of Industry and Construction of the republic told RIA Novosti.

BBC: Japan "with tears in its eyes" said goodbye to the last pandas in the country

26.01.26 | Thousands of people came to Tokyo Zoo on January 25 to say goodbye to pandas Xiao and Lei, the BBC reports. They will return to China on Tuesday, and for the first time in half a century, not a single panda will remain in Japan.

Warehouse operators have proposed to develop a standard for regulating the industry

26.01.26 | The National Association of Container Warehouse Operators has sent an appeal to the government with a proposal to develop a federal regulatory framework for leased warehouses.

Migrant workers were offered a ban on changing jobs during the year

26.01.26 | Foreigners who arrived in Russia on the basis of an employment patent were proposed to be required to work in one organization for at least 12 months after entering the country in order to be able to conclude a new employment contract with another employer or work part-time. Such a bill was submitted to the State Duma on January 26.

The Government has approved a ban on foreigners with a criminal record to obtain Russian citizenship

26.01.26 | The Government Commission on Legislative Activity has approved the introduction of a ban on obtaining Russian citizenship or a residence permit (residence permit) for foreigners with a criminal record.

The procedure for calculating pensions has been updated for Russians living abroad

26.01.26 | The Russian government has approved new formulations in a document that regulates the procedure for calculating pensions for Russians living abroad. The decree, signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, is posted on the official Internet portal of legal information.

The State Duma Committee has supported a draft law on fines for the sale of expired goods

26.01.26 | The State Duma Committee on State Construction and Legislation recommended that the chamber adopt in the first reading a government bill on the phased introduction of fines for the sale of expired labeled goods.

A 1% surcharge to freight railway tariffs in the Russian Federation may come into force on March 1

26.01.26 | An additional surcharge to freight railway tariffs in the Russian Federation may come into force in the spring. This is stated in the relevant draft order of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia), published on the federal portal of draft regulatory legal acts.

US core capital goods orders rise for fifth straight month, boosting economic outlook

26.01.26 | New orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods increased more than expected in November, indicating business spending on equipment maintained a steady growth pace in the fourth quarter.

China's Xi says India, China are 'friends, partners'

26.01.26 | China's President Xi Jinping said China and India were "good neighbours, friends and partners" as he wished President Droupadi Murmu congratulations on the South Asian nation's Republic Day, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.

Trump called on Congress to ban assistance to illegal migrants

26.01.26 | President Donald Trump is calling on Congress to pass legislation which will abolish sanctuary cities and is demanding that every Democratic governor and mayor work with his administration as it carries out its immigration enforcement agenda.

The MEPs shaping the EU’s next budget

26.01.26 | The European Commission presented its proposal for the bloc’s next seven-year budget proposal last July. Since then, EU countries and the Parliament have begun internal negotiations on changes that could significantly reshape the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).

India to slash tariffs on cars to 40% in trade deal with EU, sources say

26.01.26 | India plans to slash tariffs on cars imported from the European Union to 40% from as high as 110%, sources said, in the biggest opening yet of the country's vast market as the two sides close in on a free trade pact that could come as early as Tuesday.

New US Defence Strategy says Europe should handle Russia threat

26.01.26 | The new US National Defense Strategy, quietly released by the Pentagon over the weekend, casts Russia as a manageable threat that should be handled by NATO’s Eastern states, while stating that Washington should provide more limited support to Europe.

German Law on EU Sanctions Enforcement

15.01.26 | German Bundestag adopted the Federal Government’s draft law aimed at aligning criminal offences and penalties for breaches of restrictive measures imposed by the European Union.

Best regards,

Tadzio Schilling,
Chief Executive Officer
Association of European Businesses

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