MOSCOW: The Russian rouble retreated on Friday after gaining almost 5% against the US dollar in the previous session on market optimism that followed a telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At 0820 GMT, the rouble was down 0.9% at 90.30 against the dollar, still the highest level for the Russian currency since September 2024, according to data from the over-the-counter market.
The Moscow Exchange stock market index rose by another 2.2%, bringing total gains since the start of the year to 13.7%. The exchange suspended trade on Thursday night after the index rallied 6%, citing data transmission problems.
Many analysts cautioned against excessive optimism, stressing that there was little certainty about the upcoming summit as well as possible Ukraine peace negotiations while there was a long road ahead.
As long as there is no lifting of sanctions, the continued market rally means granting a loan now for something that might happen in the future, VTB’s Stanislav Kletschev said.
The market rally is taking place ahead of the central bank’s rate-setting meeting on February 14, at which the regulator is expected to keep its key rate on hold at 21%, the highest level since early 2000s as inflation shows no sign of slowing down.
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