The Russian rouble hit a more than two-year high against the euro before stabilising at around 77 rubles per euro.

The Russian rouble hit a more than two-year high against the euro before stabilizing at around 77 rubles to the euro.

It says that (Reuters) – The Russian rouble fell from a two-year high against the euro in early trading on Tuesday, but stabilized near Monday’s close. This is a week when tax payments are supporting the currency, and investors are looking forward to a rate cut on Friday, which is likely.

It was at 76.90 against the euro at 0817 GMT, up 0.3% from its previous high of 75.95, which was its highest level since early March 2020. was 0.1% stronger against the dollar at 73.04.

Trading hasn’t picked up as much as it did before February 24, when Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.

The central bank has put in capital controls to keep the rouble from moving too much. The economy is now facing high inflation, capital flight, and the risk of a debt default after the West imposed tough sanctions.

Some Promsvyazbank analysts say that this week, the rouble should get a boost from Russian businesses that have to pay income tax on Thursday.

But Russia’s mineral extraction tax payment period came to an end on Monday, which could keep the rouble from going up. Analysts say that payments in April may have set a new record.

Foreign currency sales by exporters could stop this week because of a recent easing of currency controls, and the value of the rouble could fall.

A lot of people are also waiting to see what the interest rates will be on Friday. A Reuters poll shows most people think that the central bank is going to cut its main interest rate by 200 basis points, to 15%, a Reuters poll shows. It’s doing this because it wants to get more people to borrow money in the face of high inflation.

Lower interest rates help the economy by making it easier to borrow money, but they can also cause inflation and make the rouble more vulnerable to outside threats.

Russian stock indexes were going up.

The dollar-based RTS index rose 3% to 969.6 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index rose 2.8% to 2,247.9 points, or 2,249.9 points.

For a guide to Russian stocks, see

For Russian government bonds, see

The Russian rouble hit a more than two-year high against the euro before stabilizing at around 77 rubles to the euro.