Russian rouble rises against US dollar after Trump-Putin call
MOSCOW: The Russian rouble strengthened to just above 80 against the US dollar on Tuesday, following a call between United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on ceasefire talks in Ukraine.
By 0740 GMT, the rouble was up 0.5 per cent at 80.30 per US dollar, LSEG data based on over-the-counter quotes showed. The Russian currency has risen more than 40 per cent against the dollar this year.
Most analysts view the rouble as overvalued and anticipate a correction following its rally since the start of the year. The rally has been mainly driven by expectations of a peace accord between Russia and Ukraine, as well as of improved relations with the United States.
"No sanction threats from Donald Trump have been heard so far. This has led to the fact that there was no market correction," Alor brokerage analysts said in a research note.
Against the Chinese yuan, which Russia's central bank uses for its foreign exchange interventions and is the most-traded foreign currency in Russia, the rouble was down 0.5 per cent at 11.13 per yuan on the Moscow Stock Exchange.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
22 minutes ago
- The Star
South Korea presidential hopefuls make final pitch to voters ahead of election
Supporters of Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate for South Korea's Democratic Party, reacts after an election campaign rally in Hanam, South Korea, June 2, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea's leading presidential hopefuls were crisscrossing the country on the final day of campaigning on Monday before converging on Seoul, vowing to revive an ailing economy and put months of turmoil over a failed martial law attempt behind them. Tuesday's election was triggered by the ouster of Yoon Suk Yeol who briefly imposed martial law in December, stunning South Koreans who had come to believe the days of using the military to intervene in the democratic process were long past. Liberal frontrunner Lee Jae-myung vowed to mend the social division that deepened in the aftermath of Yoon's martial law, but said his opponent and Yoon's People Power Party must be held accountable, branding them "insurrection sympathisers." "We are at a historic inflection point of whether we go on as a democratic republic or become a country of dictators," Lee told a campaign rally in the battleground capital. Later he said the top priority as president if elected would be to take urgent steps to address the economy, adding he would first turn his attention to the cost of living for middle- and low-income families and the struggles of small business owners. After sweeping through key swing vote regions and the stronghold of his main conservative opponent, Kim Moon-soo, Lee focused on the capital region home to the highest concentration of the country's 44.39 million voters. Kim started the final day on the southern island of Jeju before crossing the country north, calling Lee a "dangerous man" who would abuse the office of president and the parliament controlled by his Democratic Party in an unchecked manner. The conservative candidate once again apologised on Monday for Yoon's martial law and pledged to undertake political reform. The two leading candidates were scheduled to wrap up three weeks of official campaigning at midnight in Seoul, with polls set to open at 6 a.m. (2100 GMT on Monday) on Tuesday across the country. The winner, who will be certified on Wednesday, will have just a short few hours before taking office without the usual two-month transition as Yoon was removed by the Constitutional Court on April 4 for grave violation of his lawful duties. (Reporting by Jack KimEditing by Ed Davies and Saad Sayeed)
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Belarus president to China on Monday for three-day visit: office
MOSCOW: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will travel to China on Monday for a three-day visit during which he is due to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, his office said. Lukashenko 'will carry out a visit on June 2-4 to the People's Republic of China,' the presidential office was quoted as saying by the state news agency Belta. The Belarusian leader will hold a 'traditional friendly family meeting with the head of the PRC,' it said. The meeting will take place 'first in a 'one-on-one' format and then in an informal setting Alexander Lukashenko and Xi Jinping are planning to discuss the state and perspectives of Belarus-China relations,' it said. Lukashenko, who has ruled ex-Soviet Belarus for more than 30 years, last visited China in December 2023.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Bulgaria cyber ‘elves' fight Kremlin and cruelty
SOFIA, BULGARIA: A Bulgarian group of dozens of cyber activists at first clubbed together to battle Russian disinformation, but they have since found other foes -- like animal abusers. They call themselves the BG Elves, which both refers to the kind-hearted characters of Scandinavian mythology and hints at a rivalry with the internet's malicious trolls. The collective of about 70 anonymous cyber security experts have made a name for themselves by creating problems for their adversaries. One of their latest efforts was helping an animal rights NGO uncover evidence that led to the March arrest of a woman and a man accused of selling videos online of hundreds of animals being tortured to death. 'Our work was crucial, because for the first time a crime was solved in Bulgaria based on OSINT data, proving that our efforts can produce concrete results,' software developer Petko Petkov, the Elves' only public face, told AFP. OSINT refers to open-source intelligence, which is information gathered with digital investigation techniques like reverse image search and geolocation. In the summer of 2024, the NGO alerted the cyber sleuths to videos posted on Telegram of a masked woman torturing animals. The Elves tracked her down within hours. Using OSINT, they were also able to trace the locations where the videos of cats, rabbits and guinea pigs being tortured on camera were filmed by her accomplice. The videos sparked widespread protests in Bulgaria, and prompted the government to propose emergency legislation. - 'Counter-propaganda' - Set up in 2023 in response to pro-Kremlin disinformation flooding Bulgaria, the group first zeroed in on the key players involved in the campaigns. 'There were about 10 of us in a chat group, we refined the concept, then put out a call for volunteers,' Petkov told AFP about the group's founding. They have grown significantly since and include experts in cyber security, social engineering and databases. 'We are not hackers, we are researchers,' said Petkov, 37, who moved from central Bulgaria to Kyiv shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Dedicated to activism, the Elves try to fight the deluge of disinformation by disseminating 'counter-propaganda that makes people think', he said. 'We noticed that a (disinfo) narrative... takes some time to reach people. Our idea was to flood the space with humour and irony before the propaganda takes hold,' said Petkov. Recently, they launched a viral meme campaign targeting the main false claims about Bulgaria's accession to the eurozone, distributing the content through profiles embedded within major disinformation networks. In March, BG Elves supported a Romanian journalist in an investigation that exposed a Russia-linked disinformation and propaganda network funded through online advertising. - 'More serious' cases - In the wake of the recent arrests, Bulgaria proposed a bill in parliament, which allows for higher prison terms of up to 10 years for torturing animals. Nearly 300 people have been convicted of such offences in the last five years, but few end up in prison. Petya Altimirska, president of the animal welfare association CAAI, who had reached out to the Elves for help in the abuse case, has since received numerous reports of 'even more serious' cases, adding that the cyber sleuths are already 'on it'. While the group was praised for exposing the animal abuse, it has also faced criticism and numerous threats for its provocative approach and alleged political bias.
