The Russian ruble appears to be steadying at close to 60 against the dollar, following continued support from month-end tax payments that encourage export-focused firms to increase conversion of foreign currency.
The ruble has been the world’s best-performing currency year to date, with capital controls imposed by Russia negating most of the effects of western sanctions following the February invasion of Ukraine.
The currency initially hit a record low of 121.53 to the dollar on the Moscow Exchange in March before rallying to a seven-year peak of 50.01 in June. Through the course of the summer it has stayed somewhat close to 60.
At 0737 GMT, the ruble was 0.3% weaker against the dollar at 60.10 and dropped 0.2% to 59.69 to the euro .
Russia’s economy has avoided the meltdown predicted by many following the launch of what Vladimir Putin describes as a “special military operation” against neighboring Ukraine. Higher prices for its oil exports have cushioned the impact of Western sanctions, whilst Russian insistence on payment for exports in rubles has propped up its currency/
On the stock market, the dollar-denominated RTS index dropped 0.9% to 1,179.5 points. The ruble-based MOEX Russian index was down 0.5% at 2,248.8 points.