Russian rouble weakens slightly amid geopolitical uncertainty

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble weakened slightly against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday as the market awaited further developments in talks between Russia and the U.S. on Ukraine, with President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy expected to visit Washington this week.

By 1115 GMT, the rouble was down 0.3% at 84.25 against the dollar in the over-the-counter market. The Russian currency is up about 25% against the dollar this year, mostly on expectations of easing geopolitical tensions.

A key Kremlin negotiator, Kirill Dmitriev, is expected in Washington later this week for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, including U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, sources familiar with the plan said.

“The news background is excessively volatile and, in our opinion, does not provide clear positive signals, which will continue to limit demand for rouble assets,” said analyst Denis Popov from PSB bank.

Rouble strengthens against dollar

“Due to increased uncertainty in geopolitical prospects and the current exchange rate volatility, in the short term, we are focusing on sideways movements of the exchange rate,” he added.

Against the Chinese yuan, the most traded foreign currency in Russia, the rouble was down 0.4% at 11.70 on the Moscow Stock Exchange.