Russian rouble up 2.5% ahead of Trump-Putin talks

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Russian rouble up 2.5% ahead of Trump-Putin talks

, Reuters - 4:03 AM ET 3/18/2025 default

MOSCOW, March 18 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble rallied 2.5% on Tuesday ahead of talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump is expected to push Putin to accept a ceasefire in Russia's war with Ukraine and move toward a more permanent end to the three-year conflict.

By 0750 GMT, the rouble traded at 81.40 against the dollar in over-the-counter market, its strongest level since June 27, 2024. The rouble is up more than 28% so far this year.

Against the Chinese yuan, the most traded foreign currency in Russia, the rouble was up 1.3% to 11.22, also the highest level since June 27, 2024, in trade on the Moscow Stock Exchange (MOEX).

The rouble rally could help the central bank bring down inflation rates if the Russian currency stays at its current levels long enough for the exchange rate to have an impact on prices of imported goods.

The regulator's board will convene on March 21 to discuss the benchmark rate, which is currently at the highest level in over 20 years. All analysts in a Reuters poll expected the regulator to keep the rate on hold at 21%. (Reporting by Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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