The ruble is strengthening sharply, by almost ten percent in the last two days. The Kremlin’s regulations and the European Union’s reluctance to cut itself off from Russian energy are helping. The Russian currency is stronger than before the war.
The Russian ruble has strengthened significantly during today’s trading in Moscow. It thus reached the strongest level since February 11, ie before the Russian attack on Ukraine, Reuters reported. Sanctions imposed on Russia led the ruble to fall to record lows, but later the Russian currency recovered. The actions of the Russian authorities, such as a significant increase in interest rates or an order to exchange a Russian company for 80 percent of foreign exchange earnings, contributed to this.
Shortly after 14:00 CET, the US dollar lost almost five percent against the Russian ruble and was close to 76 rubles per dollar, falling to 74.2625 rubles per dollar in the morning. In recent weeks, according to Bloomberg, thanks to sanctions, it has climbed to 121.5 rubles per dollar.
Russia’s central bank in late February in an effort to support the domestic currency more than doubled the key interest rate to 20 percent from the previous 9.5 percent. Russia has also imposed restrictions on capital movements in response to Western sanctions.
Some experts therefore question the importance of the return of the ruble to pre-attack levels in Ukraine. “Given all the measures put in place by the authorities, this is not a free-floating currency,” said analyst Guillaume Tresca of Generali Insurance Asset Management.
However, according to Bloomberg, the rapid recovery of the ruble represents a significant success on the domestic scene for Russian President Vladimir Putin, as many Russians see the ruble’s exchange rate against the dollar as an important indicator of the state of the domestic economy.
Once the gas is resolved, Europe must get rid of its dependence on Russian uranium. It would take the Czech Republic years
Russia’s nuclear fuel will be another major challenge for Europe’s energy industry, Bloomberg said. According to the experts, the replacement for Russian uranium will take three to five years, but a more realistic estimate is a full ten years. At the moment, 100 million Europeans, including Czechs and Slovaks, are dependent on Russian-supplied fuel.
The pressure on Moscow is intensifying. Russia had to pay its dollar creditors in rubles
The Russian government had to pay its ruble bonds. The foreign bank refused to process an order to pay the holders of these bonds the amount of 649.2 million dollars (approximately 14.5 billion crowns) in dollars. The Russian Ministry of Finance announced it.
How to invest during the war? To the shares of German armourers, American banks or bleeding Russian companies
The war in Ukraine, escalating Western sanctions and Russian retaliation are rewriting all of this year’s recommendations on how and what to invest. In addition, turbulent times bring quite unexpected things. For those who have enough courage.
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