While the Central Bank of Russia is excited about the “mature” ruble, the single European currency is also growing up in line with the ruble. Recently, despite the CBR optimism, the euro has confidently mounted above 70 against the grown-up ruble. It is the highest level since November 2016.
It turned out that the Russian ruble is not the only currency affected by the euro growth. The last couple of weeks were very beneficial for the euro: it advanced against the US dollar and, having secured the support of the ECB, is likely to continue its upward movement. Of course, the euro is stronger than the US dollar, but the American currency still plays the leading role in the Russian trade and it once again rose above 60 against the ruble. Neither the optimism of the Central Bank, nor the faith of the Russians in the ruble strength, nor even a rise in oil prices, could help the Russian currency. Still, it seems that the cheaper the ruble, the happier the Russian government is. Given the various turmoils that the Russian ruble goes through on a regular basis, even the most blissfully unaware of the forex market Russians understand pros and cons of the ups and downs of the currency rate.
The Russian mass media in an easily-accessible form told about the benefits of a national currency collapse for the country's budget. Natural resources are sold for dollars, and wages are paid in rubles. So, the profit is clear as the state budget expands, and the expenses contract, given that now you can buy twice as many rubles for the same amount of the US dollars.
