The Russian currency has been showing remarkable resilience versus the US dollar and the euro. The ruble has got immune to turbulence in the oil market. Earlier, it used to respond to any twist in crude prices. Nowadays, the ruble is virtually unaffected by the domestic and global economic headwinds. The only factor which puts pressure on the ruble is escalating Western sanctions. Notably, the Russian currency is not vulnerable to zero demand for federal loan bonds any more. Recently, Russia’s finance ministry reported that it failed to sell federal loan bonds, totaling 30 billion rubles. If the ruble is able to assert its strength, it will develop a robust rally which will not be easily disrupted. In this case, experts are betting on a huge leap.
However, the ruble’s appreciation defies plans of the Russian authorities. The Kremlin is not interested in the firm national currency. The odds are that the government will take measures to put a lid on the ruble’s growth. Time will show how such a highly-volatile currency will stand the pressure. Large speculators either buy an asset too late or too early. For example, when US stocks and crude oil reversed a trajectory and began a bullish trend in December, the ruble was still losing ground. However, the ruble perked up on the first trading day of the year.
