The Russian ruble struggles to stay afloat desperately. While the country’s central bank and the government do not hurry to interfere, only external factors can provide support to the national currency. And the support came quickly. Donald Trump, the most famous trend-maker on the globe, managed to prevent the ruble’s crash in just one tweet.
The US President decided to postpone new sanctions against Russia which boosted a rise in both the ruble and the Russian stocks. According to the sources that are close to the White House administration, the sanctions policy was put on hold after a discussion with the National Security Advisor. Additionally, the American leader disapproved the fact that the new package of sanctions was a settled issue, though Trump himself hesitated to take such a decision. Anyway, the ruble benefits from this situation. The Russian currency has not only ceased falling, but also managed to offset some of its losses against the US dollar and the euro.
As for the new sanctions, they are intended mostly for the companies that supply goods to Syria. Thus, this measure is Washington’s response to Moscow’s support of the Assad regime. The previous sanctions package against the Russian oligarchs triggered a crash on the Russian stock market and a slump in the ruble exchange rate to the 1.5-year low.
