Russian Ruble Soars Again

In domestic and foreign markets, closing session 23/3, Ruble rose to this month’s high against the dollar.

Russian Ruble. (Image: Getty Images)

The Moscow ruble rose 6% to close at 97.73 rubles/USD after surging to 94.98 rubles/USD, the highest level since March 2. On the EBS platform, the Russian local currency rose 8.8% to close at 96.5 Ruble/USD.

Both closing prices were the highest since February. Against the euro, the ruble rose 6% to 108.01 ruble/Euro in the Moscow market.

While the ruble has fallen below 100 rubles to the dollar against the dollar, it is still down more than 22% this year as Russia faces strict global sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine.

On March 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a message: “If you want to buy Russian gas, you will have to buy it in Russian currency.” It remains unclear whether Russia has the right to amend existing contracts paid in euros.

“The move is an attempt by the Russian authorities to put pressure on Western countries, with the added benefit of supporting the value of the ruble,” said economist at Capital Economics (UK) ) Liam Peach commented.

European countries’ dependence on Russian gas and other exports has been in the spotlight since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Gas prices in Europe rose sharply after Putin’s announcement, fearing that the move would aggravate the energy crisis in the region.

This week, trading in Russian bonds (OFZ) has been restored. Besides, the Central Bank of Russia (BoR) announced that some transactions on the stock market will also be resumed on March 24 after a hiatus of nearly a month.

To date, the Central Bank of Russia has not disclosed the size of its interventions in the OFZ market aimed at stabilizing prices and providing more liquidity to the financial system. The 10-year OFZ bond yield closed at 13.85% on March 23, after hitting a record high of 19.74% on March 21.

Russia appears to have averted a foreign bond default after making a dollar interest payment on a bond that is due in 2029. One bondholder said it had received the payment.

However, Russia’s National Depository Center (NSD) and analysts say that bondholders of European bonds (Eurobonds) issued by Russia could face receiving payments via banks. International agents slower due to the sanctions.

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