The Russian Ruble Is Approaching a Four-Week High

In early trade on Friday, the ruble strengthened to a near four-week high versus the dollar. It received a boost from month-end tax payments. It usually boosts demand for the ruble. At the same time, shares in fertilizer company Phosagro jumped after excellent earnings.

The ruble was 0.3% higher versus the dollar at 58.2, briefly falling to 57.71, and a low last touched on July 25.

The ruble rose 0.8% versus the euro, reaching 58.65.

The Russian currency should benefit from month-end taxes, often forcing export-focused enterprises to convert more foreign currency revenues to cover local charges.

The ruble has become the world’s best-performing currency year due to capital controls implemented by Russia following the start of what it terms a “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24.

After violent fluctuations, ruble volatility has calmed. The ruble hit a rock bottom of 121.53 versus the dollar on the MOEX in March. Afterward, it rallied to a seven-year high of 50.01 in June,

The dollar-denominated RTS index (IRTS) fell 0.3% to 1,112.4 points on the stock market. The rubles’ MOEX Russian index (IMOEX) fell 0.4% to 2,186.7 points.

Phosagro (PHOR.MM) shares surged 4.3% on the day after the firm said late Thursday that its net profit increased by 164% from the beginning to the middle of 2022 and that its board recommended paying dividends of 780 rubles ($12.18) per share.

China’s currency fell. It was at its lowest level in a three-month span on Friday. This reflected the strength of the US dollar and concerns over the Asian powerhouse’s economy.

The yuan trades within limitations set by China’s central bank. It plummeted to just shy of 6.715 yuan to the dollar. The Chinese currency hasn’t been this low since May, and it was down 0.26% to 6.031 at the time of the previous check.