The Russian ruble rose above 100 rubles to the US dollar, trading at 99.50 rubles to the dollar on Friday, after a decree issued by President Vladimir Putin opened new payment options for European buyers of Russian gas, allowing the resumption of foreign currency flows.
The ruble rose by 1.5% against the dollar, according to data from banks, and it also rose by 2.4% to 13.57, exceeding the level of 14, against the Chinese yuan in trading on the Moscow Stock Exchange.
Putin’s decree means that European buyers of Russian gas, including Hungary and Slovakia, who previously used Gazprom Bank for their transactions, can now convert their currencies into rubles in other non-sanctioned banks.
The sanctions imposed by the United States on Gazprom Bank on November 22 disrupted the foreign exchange market in Russia, causing the ruble’s exchange rate against the dollar to fall by 15%.
Now the Russian currency is on track to record its best weekly performance in four months, which indicates that the market has adapted to the sanctions. The ruble has been weakening since August 6, the first day of Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov directly linked problems with energy payments, US sanctions against Gazprom Bank and the weakness of the ruble, saying that volatility would disappear once a solution to payments was found.
“Our foreign trade participants are finding ways to settle scores with their counterparts abroad, so I think that after one week everything will be fine,” Siluanov was quoted as saying by Russian media on December 5.
