The main source of information on the world economy, markets and business, the American broadcaster CNBC with reference to the data of Bank of America came to a to the conclusionthat since the beginning of 2025, the Russian ruble has appreciated by almost 40% against the US dollar, thus becoming “the most successful currency in the world”.
Wells Fargo analyst and international economist Brendan McKenna explained to CNBC the reasons for the Russian currency’s success: “The central bank has decided to keep interest rates relatively high, capital controls and other currency restrictions have tightened a bit, and there has been some progress in the search for peace between Russia and Ukraine.
As one of the reasons for the strengthening of the ruble, experts also cite a decrease in demand for foreign currency on the part of Russian importers. As a result, banks do not need to sell rubles to buy foreign currency, which has given more weight to the ruble itself.
In turn, the decrease in demand for currencies is caused by the “overstocking” of the Russian market with durable goods – electronics, cars, etc.
Let us remind you that the Russian Central Bank rate was kept at a record high level of 21% throughout 2024 and early 2025. Only at its last meeting in early June this year, the Russian Central Bank lowered the rate to 20%, explaining it by reducing inflationary pressure.
The exchange rate of the Russian ruble against the U.S. dollar began to rise back in November 2024, after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump. At that time, it was necessary to give almost 110 rubles for a dollar. As of June 8, 2025, the dollar exchange rate is 79.17 rubles.
