The ruble has strengthened thanks to measures taken by the Russian government following the imposition of sanctions. In particular, the authorities have imposed capital controls, required exporters to sell foreign currency proceeds and demanded that gas supplies be paid for in rubles.
Bloomberg notes that the ruble has gained 11 per cent against the dollar since the start of the year and is the biggest gainer among the 31 major currencies the agency tracks.
Two years ago, the ruble was among the laggards. In 2020, analysts at Credit Suisse called its dynamics the biggest disappointment of the year, with the Russian currency then falling by almost 19%. Now, thanks to the Central Bank’s measures, the launch of gas sales for roubles and capital controls, the rouble has moved into the lead.
By the way, tough measures of the Central Bank are not a panacea for all economies. For example, Turkey and Argentina imposed capital controls, but it had the opposite effect – currency devaluation and rising inflation.
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