Russian Ruble

• The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) implements monetary policy under the inflation targeting regime, its main aim being to ensure and protect the ruble exchange rate sustainability by maintaining price stability.
• Price setting method: At present, Russia employs a floating exchange rate mechanism, which means that the exchange rate is set by the market. However, it is assumed the CBR continues to monitor closely the exchange rate of RUB versus the most important global currencies and may intervene if deemed necessary.

• Since the fall of 2014, EURRUB has started an extremely volatile route, leading to a sharp depreciation of the RUB, bringing to a level 40% below where it was in September 2014.
• The RUB exchange rate is very often driven by geopolitical events, whereby tensions between Russia and the West often lead to sharp declines in value of RUB. Next to geopolitics, RUB value is also driven by developments in the energy markets.
• As many market makers hedge positions on Micex (Moscow Exchange), market liquidity is very dependent on their opening hours.

• For short-term fluctuations, keep a close eye on political tensions involving Russia, as they usually signal RUB weakness.

For short-term fluctuations, keep a close eye on political tensions involving Russia, as they usually signal RUB weakness.