Sanctions imposed by the West on Russia will have a negative impact on Namibia's current account, used to pay for the country's imports. The first impact of the sanctions was the historic jump in crude oil prices in 14 years, which saw Namibia's fuel pump prices rising to over N$17.00. Bank of Namibia cautioned that if the increase in oil prices persist, it might respond by tightening the monetary policy, through adjusting interest rates. The central bank's spokesperson, Kazembire Zemburuka says the escalation in oil prices will bring about inflationary pressure on the economy. To contain this pressure the Bank may intervene by increasing the repo rate. This, he says, will filter through to the banking sector, where customers of banks could face a higher cost of lending and higher repayments on instalments and loans. Zemburuka says that as a consequence, this may lead to a further deterioration in the existing non-performing loan book. Asked about Namibia's exposure to Russia and its currency, he said, the country held 0.02% rubles or N$80 million as part of its total foreign currency at the start of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Zemburuka said that they are expecting unrealistic losses which will vary over time on its current account position. Apart from an increase in the fuel import bill, Namibia as a net importer of food will also take a further hit resulting in the worsening deficit on its current account. Namibians with families in Russia will no longer be able to send money using banks to their relatives in Russia. Zemburuka said Namibian banks, including the Bank of Namibia, will no longer be able to process payment instructions to any sanctioned bank in Russia, as they have been removed from the international payment system, SWIFT network, as part of the sanctions. The Russian invasion on Ukraine is now in its third week, and the west had pulled out every gun and hit that country with every sanction possible.