Russian ruble rises to its highest level since 2015

The Russian ruble rose against the US dollar to its highest level in 7 years at 54.20, the highest level since June 2015, and the ruble rose against the euro to 57.0250, the highest level since May 2015.

The ruble became the world's best performing currency this year, driven by Russia's high returns on commodity exports, a sharp decline in imports, and a ban on households withdrawing their savings in foreign currency. The dollar-denominated RTS index rose 1% at 1370.9 points, its highest level since February 21, and the Russian ruble-based MOEX (.IMOEX) index fell 1.4% at 2,374.2 points.