GBP/USD: Pound Strong vs Dollar Amidst Political Tensions With Russia
  • Ruble slides for the second consecutive day
  • A new round of sanctions piled on Russia
  • Russia – Ukraine talks planned on March 2
  • Moscow stock exchange remains close

At the foreign exchange market, the value of the Ukrainian Hryvnia appreciated on Tuesday for the second consecutive day settling up +7.05% at 3.3688 against the Russian ruble. The UAH/RUB exchange rate was seen trading on Wednesday morning within a trading range of an intra-day low of 3.2388 and a high of 3.5665 – on track to rally for 3 consecutive days.

Market sentiment is prone to be dominated by the second round of Russia – Ukraine talks planned on March 2.

Moscow stock exchange appears to remain close as Russia suspended stock trading on Monday, February 28. MOEX Russia stock index crashed over 50% on Ukraine invasion erasing almost USD 260 billion in market value.

Risk-off Sentiment

Global risk assets tracking Russia – Ukraine war have resumed trading lower on heightened volatility. The US S&P 500 closed down -1.55% to 4306 while European stock indices suffered deeper losses on Tuesday – the German stock market index was down 3.85% to 13,904.

Looking forward, in terms of risk events, the most important macroeconomic data is the Russian Unemployment rate, which is expected to remain flat in January at 4.3%. Next, the retail sales in Russia are expected to decrease from 5.4% to 4.8% in January.

Currently, one Ukrainian Hryvnia buys 3.6163 rubles, up +7.34% as of 9:13 PM UTC.