The Ruble at The Level of April Last Year

The real effective exchange rate of the ruble in the period from January to May of the current year weakened by 18 percent. At the same time, the real effective exchange rate of the ruble in May increased by 3.1 percent compared to April, according to the regular report of the Russian Central Bank.

The real effective exchange rate includes the ruble’s value against the currencies of the main trading partners, taking inflation into account. The exchange rate is should reveal the dynamics of exchange rates through the average value of trading partners’ currencies. In contrast, the nominal exchange rate does not consider inflation, according to Kommersant.

Regarding the relation to the dollar, the ruble strengthened by 2.3 percent in May compared to April, while its value against the euro fell by 2.9 percent in the same period, reports Kommersant. Since the beginning of the year, the real effective exchange rate of the ruble has fallen by 17.5 percent against the dollar and 19.5 percent against the euro.

The dollar exchange rate on the Moscow Stock Exchange exceeded 84 rubles on Tuesday for the first time since April 2022. At the end of trading, it was 83.64 rubles. The euro’s exchange rate at the end of the trading day was 90.38 rubles.

Recorded Changes

In the Bank of Russia report, statistics on trading on the foreign exchange market and trade flows for April and May were published. The main changes were in the participation of the Chinese yuan in exports and imports. Monthly yuan exports increased from 23 to 31 percent, while payment in yuan for importing goods increased from 18 to 27 percent.

In May, the participation of the yuan in the foreign exchange market increased from 36.1 to 39.2 percent, while the share of “toxic” currencies decreased from 62.3 to 59.4 percent, the Russian central bank announced, reports Investing.