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Ruble rose to his strongest level against the US dollar in five months on Wednesday, as the release of a US teacher held in Russia strengthened investors’ hopes for the end of the Ukraine war.
The currency was launched nearly 3 percent on Wednesday at $ 93.8 in the dollar, following the agreement to ensure the return of Marc Fogel, which had been banned since 2021.
The mass extends a rallied rally from the return of Donald Trump to the White House, with the ruble that won 21 percent since the beginning of the year. The US president has promised to complete the Ukraine war, and the White House said Fogel’s release was an “in the right direction” action to end the conflict.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the deal was the result of “intensified” contact with the White House, adding that a Russian prisoner detained in the US would be released in return.
“The expectation of negotiations between Russia and the US on Ukraine gives an optimism to investors,” said Alexandra Prokopenko, a friend at Carnegie Russia Eurasia in Berlin.
“If talks turn out to be complicated, and this optimism fades, the ruble will have a more difficult time.”
Analysts said the currency had also increased by the increased sales of the Chinese renminbi – Russia’s most traded foreign currency – from the Russian Central Bank, which interferes with markets to support the exchange rate.
Increasing energy prices has also supported rubles by increasing Russia’s export revenue. The raw, international standard oil standard has increased 7 percent since the beginning of December, while natural gas prices have increased more severely.
Ruble crashed to record landing after Russia’s occupation in Ukraine in 2022, which prompted a number of Western sanctions in force by interrupting Russia from the global financial system.
Although authorities stayed the exchange rate by tightening currency controls, the ruble remained unstable and was hit by further energy sanctions in the US at the end of last year.
