The Russian ruble is the marvel of resilience. The odds have been stacked against it, but it never gives up. The Russian government does not want a strong national currency because of its raw materials exports. Even on the back of rising oil prices, it keeps curbing the ruble’s appreciation.
Meanwhile, unstable emerging markets, with Turkey above all, count against the ruble. The Turkish lira’s recent nosedive and escalating US-Turkey trade spat are dragging emerging market currencies lower. So the ruble is no exception.
It is no wonder that the ruble is sometimes referred to as a ‘wooden currency’ by Russian people. Despite all obstacles, it amazingly keeps afloat.
The ruble is still extremely undervalued relative to oil prices and macroeconomic indicators. But concerns over the impact of sanctions prevent it from picking up steam.
"The ruble has gained some breathing space as factors that support it prevail over those that lead to its weakening”, analyst Evgeny Vorobyev said.
Good luck to the ruble so that it can soon pull out of this dark chapter in its turbulent history.
