Russia: Ruble to tumble on rising risk of sanctions – Rabobank

FXStreet Team FXStreet

The relationship between the EU/US and Russia will remain a major driving factor for the ruble in the coming months. The bias is skewed in favour of USD/RUB and EUR/RUB extending their gains due to rising odds of a new set of Western sanctions being announced against Russia, Piotr Matys, Senior Emerging Markets and FX Strategist at Rabobank, reports.

Key quotes

“While the initial resistance in USD/RUB comes at 75.9540, and above that 77 would be the next key level to watch, USD/RUB would clear both technical threshold if the West opted for very harsh measures against Russia. Should such a negative scenario were to unfold, EUR/RUB would breach the resistance area around the 90 level and would likely revisit the 2016 high at 93.6757.”

“It seems very unlikely that tensions between the EU/US and Russia will ease substantially in the short-term. Therefore, the scope for any potential pullback in USD/RUB and EUR/RUB caused by factors that do not concern Russia directly – for example ECB officials making an attempt to prevent the euro from appreciating excessively – will remain relatively limited.”

Author

FXStreet Team

FXStreet

EUR/USD ticks higher to near 1.1800 ahead of flash German inflation data

The EUR/USD pair trades marginally higher to near 1.1810 in the late Asian trading session on Friday, ahead of the release of preliminary inflation data for February from Germany and its major states during the day.

GBP/USD struggles to lure buyers amid UK political drama, BoE easing bias

The GBP/USD pair struggles to build on the overnight modest bounce from the 1.3445 area, or the weekly low, and oscillates in a narrow band during the Asian session on Friday. Spot prices currently trade just below the 1.3500 psychological mark, nearly unchanged for the day, and seem vulnerable to slide further.

Gold awaits acceptance above $5,200 and US PPI data

Gold consolidates previous rebound near $5,200 amid risk-off markets, awaiting US PPI release. The US Dollar eyes a flattish weekly close as dovish Fed outlook and tariff woes outweigh geopolitical risks. Gold yearns for acceptance above $5,200 to resume the uptrend, with a bullish RSI in play.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple consolidate with short-term cautious bullish bias

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are consolidating near key technical areas on Friday, showing mild signs of stabilization after recent volatility. BTC holds above $67,000 despite mild losses so far this week, while ETH hovers around $2,000 after a rejection near its upper consolidation boundary.

Changing the game: International implications of recent tariff developments

The Supreme Court ruling on International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs provides limited relief for the rest of the world, with weighted average tariff rates modestly lower.

Starknet unveils strkBTC, shielded Bitcoin transactions on Ethereum Layer 2

Starknet, the Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by StarkWare, today announced strkBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin asset that introduces optional shielding while preserving full DeFi composability.