Good news to those who were born in the USSR! People who are nostalgic about the Soviet past will be pleased to find out that most of the post-Soviet currencies have gained ground versus the US dollar. Someone may say that the currencies of the ex-Soviet republics have rebounded following a rate cut by the Federal Reserve. In fact, the US regulator does not aim to curb the overvalued greenback giving in to political pressure. So, the US dollar is extending strength with its index at more than a two-year high. The US currency certainly slips in response to some tepid macroeconomic data from the US, but the greenback has not revealed broad-based weakness yet. In this context, six currencies on the ex-Soviet territory are showing remarkable resilience to the main reserve currency. Four of them have incurred minor losses. The Russian ruble takes the lead with a weekly advance by 1.56%. The Belarusian ruble is the second best with a 1.29% gain. The third rank is given to the Ukrainian hryvnia which has risen by 1.21%. The currencies with less impressive dynamics are listed in the descending order: the Moldovan leu (+0.22%), the Tajikistani somoni (+0.08%), and the Kyrgyzstani som (+0.01%). On the other hand, the Georgian lari has suffered the most weekly losses (-0.23%). The Uzbek soum is the second worst performer (-0.17%). The Kazakhstani tenge has shed 0.11%. The Armenian Dram rounds out the list with a 0.01% downtick.
To sum it up, the Russian currency remains afloat in the latest years despite domestic and global headwinds. The ruble has survived Western sanctions, lackluster performance of the domestic economy, and turmoil in the oil market. Moreover, the Kremlin has been making determined efforts to push the national currency down since international sanctions were imposed against Russia in response to the annexation of Crimea and Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine.
