Apple is increasing App Store prices in Russia over the plummeting ruble, the basic monetary unit of the 145 million people country and some other former republics of the USSR, reports 9to5Mac.
So after halting online sales due to the fluctuating currency, now Apple’s virtual store is feeling the repercussions of Russia’s troubled economy.
Russian ruble, and consequentially the country’s economy as a whole, have stagnated for months now due to the falling price of oil and economic sanctions imposed by EU and USA over President Putin’s annexation of Crimea.
As a result of the price increase, the entry-level 99-cent price point has gone up to 62 rubles.
“We’ve increased the price for apps and In-App Purchases on the Russian App Store to account for changes in foreign exchange rates,” reads Apple’s email to developers.
“We’ve also updated the pricing matrix, which is now available in the app’s Pricing section in My Apps on iTunes Connect,” the message continues. iTunes Connect, by the way, is a web service developers use to upload binaries, content and marketing materials to iTunes.
The ruble has decreased by an incredible nineteen percent in just 24 hours, marking the worst single-day drop for the currency in the last sixteen years.
As Apple’s email notes, the company periodically adjusts prices on the App Store to reflect changes in foreign exchange rates.
However, Apple’s been working to deal with the ruble fluctuations in other ways. In November, for example, the Cupertino firm increased the price of the iPhone 6 in Russia by 25 percent.
[9to5Mac]