iPhone 6 price jumps 35% in Russia as ruble plummets

Apple has again raised the price of the iPhone 6 in Russia.
CNET

Consumers in Russia can once again purchase Apple’s iPhone 6, but they’ll have to pay more for the privilege.

Apple increased the price of the iPhone 6 by 35 percent in Russia, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The 16GB iPhone 6 now costs 53,990 rubles ($978), while the 128GB version costs 69,990 rubles ($1,265). The most expensive model, the 128GB iPhone 6 Plus, is now priced at 77,990 ($1,410).

Apple initially responded to the ruble’s downturn last month by raising the price of the iPhone 6 by 25 percent. But then it paused all online sales on December 16 “due to extreme fluctuations in the value of the ruble,” as it reviewed pricing of its products.

Over the past quarter, the ruble has lost about 30 percent of its value against the US dollar in the wake of lower oil prices and economic sanctions against the country over the situation in the Ukraine, according to Bloomberg. As a result, any revenues generated by Apple in Russia are worth less in dollars, thus forcing it and other US companies to raise prices if they expect to make up the difference.

Apple increasingly relies on more of its revenues from emerging markets, though analysts estimate that only a small percentage of overall sales comes from Russia. But still, the country is a growing market. iPhone sales in Russia doubled last year to 1.57 million units, generating $1 billion, Bloomberg said, citing data from research firm IDC. Total iPhone shipments reached 153.4 million units in 2013. iPhone shipments to Russia through September of this year increased to 1.9 million, according to IDC’s numbers.

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Apple does not operate any physical stores in Russia and sells the iPhone and other products strictly from its online store. Apple products are available in Russia through third-party retail outlets.

Apple’s online store has since reopened for business. But with the two price increases on the iPhone 6, Russian consumers now have to pay 69 percent more in rubles for the phone than they would have less than a month ago, Bloomberg noted.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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