The Russian currency Ruble emerged as the top-performing major currency against the US dollar this year, surging 45% since January. This unexpected strength caught Russian officials off guard and poses challenges for the country’s war-affected economy. The currency is now trading around 78 per dollar, similar to levels before Russia’s Ukraine invasion, as reported by Economic Times.The surge comes from several factors. Russians are buying less foreign currency due to international sanctions. High interest rates have also made ruble investments more attractive to locals. The central bank kept rates very high from October last year until June this year, before reducing them by 5 points to 16 per cent.This strong performance has exceeded government expectations, which predicted an average rate of 91.2 per dollar for the year. The ruble has stayed strong despite lower oil prices and…
