MOSCOW: The Russian rouble was little changed against the US dollar and China’s yuan on Friday, amid turbulence in global forex markets caused by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, which triggered a plunge in global financial markets.
By 0910 GMT, the rouble was flat at 84.20 against the dollar in the over-the-counter market. The Russian currency is up about 25% against the dollar this year, mostly on expectations of easing geopolitical tensions.
The dollar index, a measure of the currency against a basket of six major peers, plunged 1.9% on April 2, its worst day since November 2022, following the tariffs announcement.
“The rouble has immunity to global currency fluctuations,” BCS Express brokerage analysts said.
Russian rouble weakens slightly amid geopolitical uncertainty
“Barriers on cross-border capital flows limit international speculators’ activity while sanctions cut Russia-US trade to the lowest level since 1992. Therefore, the sensitivity of the rouble’s exchange rate is low,” they added.
The rouble did not react to a 2% fall in oil prices on Friday as Russia’s main export commodity was on track for the worst week in months on concerns over the global trade war.
Against the Chinese yuan, the most traded foreign currency in Russia, the rouble was also flat at 11.58 on the Moscow Stock Exchange.
American Dollar Exchange Rate