World Blog by humble servant. Ukraine Chronicles 1038 Ruble hits two-year high against dollar, euro The Russian currency firms to pre-pandemic levels

The Russian ruble rose to its strongest position against the US dollar in over two years on Tuesday, amid reports that Russia’s dollar payments on two foreign bonds reached the creditors just before the deadline, averting a default. The exchange rate reached 66.43 rubles per dollar at 13:06 GMT during Tuesday’s foreign exchange trading, Bloomberg data showed, although the Russian currency lost some of its gains later in the day. The Moscow Exchange was closed on Tuesday due to an extended public holiday. When trading in Moscow opened on Wednesday, the Russian currency was at just under 69 rubles per dollar at 09:12 GMT, the highest level since May 2020. The ruble has been strong against the euro as well, touching 72.00 in morning trading in Moscow, its highest point since February 2020. Russia averts defaultREAD MORE: Russia averts default This comes as the EU proposed a sixth package of sanctions against Moscow, which includes the gradual phasing-out of Russian oil imports. On Friday the Russian central bank cut its key interest rate to 14% in the latest attempt to boost lending in the sanction-hit economy. The euro is currently hovering around a five-year low against the dollar with soaring inflation and energy uncertainty caused by the Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia.