Outlook for the Rouble: likely driven by geopolitics in the coming months
smartmoney.oneIn late January, we predicted that the rouble will likely strengthen during Q1 2021, potentially to the level of 72.5/$, while highlighting the risks associated with new US sanctions. Indeed, the favourable conditions in global commodity markets and recovering risk appetite led to the appreciation of the rouble to 72.7 per USD during the trading session on 16 March.However, the publication later that day of the report by members of the US intelligence community about Russia's involvement in attempts to influence the outcome of the 2020 US elections alarmed investors, while Joe Biden's interview on 17 March containing some unexpectedly harsh personal attacks against Putin ensured the turnaround in the rouble’s dynamics.