Rouble sell-off slows as Ukraine crisis continuous

On Tuesday, the rouble attempted to regain some stability after plunging to an all-time low. At the same time, the US dollar resumed its rise against major peers as traders took a breather amid the fast-moving Ukraine crisis.

On Monday, the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc retreated after posting their most significant gains in nearly seven weeks against the US dollar.

The dollar rose 0.16 percent to 115.145 yen after falling 0.47 percent overnight. It increased 0.20 percent to 0.9185 francs after falling 0.95 percent on Monday.

The euro fell 0.25 percent to $1.1191, but it was still well off the previous session’s low of $1.1121.

The risk-sensitive Australian dollar fell 0.15 percent to $0.72525 after reaching a nearly one-week high of $0.72670 earlier in the day. As expected, the Reserve Bank of Australia kept the key interest rate unchanged at a record low on Tuesday, noting that the Ukraine conflict added a new source of uncertainty to the outlook.

The rouble dramatically began the week, falling as much as 30% to a record 120 per dollar after Western countries and their allies imposed new sanctions on Russia, including the deactivation of some banks from the SWIFT financial network. The currency recovered somewhat following the Russian central bank’s emergency rate hike and other urgent measures, and it was last trading flat at 101.

On Monday, currency volatility reached its highest level in 14 months, according to a Deutsche Bank (DE: DBKGn) index. Because of the Ukraine crisis, traders have reduced their bets on a 50 basis-point rate hike on March 16, with current odds at 11.4 percent.

In the first comments by a Fed official since the conflict, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Monday that he is not ruling out a half-point increase but prefers a quarter-point growth.

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