Ruble Finishes Near 60 versus The Dollar

As of 0810 GMT, the ruble had strengthened by 0.1% against the dollar, standing at 59.80, and moved to 60.41, distancing itself from a nearly four-week high of 57.70 reached on Friday.

In relation to the euro, the ruble gained 0.1%, reaching 59.40, as the European currency dropped to a new two-decade low against the dollar.

Alfa Bank’s Observations and Month-End Tax Payments

Alfa Bank observed that the ruble is poised to progress with the approaching end-of-month tax period. Typically, month-end tax payments necessitate export-focused companies to convert their foreign currency revenues into rubles to fulfil local liabilities.

To date, the ruble has emerged as the world’s best-performing currency, largely due to capital controls imposed by Russia to counter threats to financial stability.

Ruble Volatility and Market Movements

After experiencing significant fluctuations, rouble volatility has stabilized since reaching a low of 121.53 against the dollar on the Moscow Exchange in March. This occurred shortly after Moscow deployed troops into Ukraine on February 24, and the ruble then surged to a seven-year high of 50.01 in June.

Stock Market and Yandex Shares

On the stock market, the dollar-denominated RTS index rose by 0.9% to 1,184.6 points, while the ruble-based MOEX Russian index increased by 1% to 2,249.7 points.

Yandex shares saw a significant jump of 2.3% following its agreement to sell its news aggregator and yandex.ru homepage to state-controlled competitor VK. This major deal could further limit Russians’ access to independent media sources.