ruble
Europe has not yet succeeded in stopping the Russian economic rise, which was reflected in its local currency and stock market, after a resounding decline in the Russian economy in the first days of its invasion of Ukraine. At a time when the Russian ruble is recording 60 levels against the dollar, which succeeded earlier in rising to reach 50 levels against the dollar last June. On the other hand, Russian stocks succeeded in recording their highest level in 3 months.
Russia’s benchmark Mox stock index climbed to its highest in more than three months on Friday, as investors bet on other companies following Gazprom’s (MCX:GAZP) lead in recommending a dividend.
The giant Gazprom’s board this week recommended that 51.03 rubles ($0.8456) per common share be paid out in the first half of 2022, sending the company’s shares up nearly 25% and supporting Russian indexes.
“Investors seem to have rejoiced and hope that the idea of dividend distribution will be real and fast and that other Russian companies will join Gazprom and distribute dividends, hoping that this will gradually help move the market upward,” said Alexander Arutyunyan, chief economist at Rosinvest.
The dollar-denominated RTS index rose 0.8% to 1,290.1 points, close to a two-month high.
“Investors may want to make money ahead of the weekend, although we still think iMOEX has more chance of a rally, and it’s still bullish,” BCS Global Markets said in a note.
fixed ruble
The ruble has oscillated around 60 against the dollar and the euro, maintaining a flat range that has characterized the past several weeks, reversing the previous months of violent volatility.
So far this year, the ruble has been the world’s best performing currency, buoyed by emergency capital controls launched by the central bank in an effort to stem a mass selloff. This helped avert the economic collapse that many had expected.
However, the central bank said that Russian banks collectively lost 1.5 trillion rubles ($24.86 billion) in the first six months of 2022, and disclosed banking sector earnings on Friday for the first time since February.