The Russian ruble dropped nearly 3% at the start of trade on Monday as markets had their first chance to react to the aborted mutiny by units of a private military company over the weekend.
The currency weakened to below 87 rubles to the US dollar for the first time since March 2022. One euro traded 2.5% above Friday’s level at over 95 rubles, its highest exchange rate since April last year.
Investors are digesting this weekend’s unrest, which began on Friday evening when the Wagner private military company led by Evgeny Prigozhin launched an insurrection in the country.
Prigozhin’s units managed to seize control of several military and administrative sites in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and began moving towards Moscow.
However, Wagner aborted its advance after failing to gain the support of regular Russian army units and eventually reached an agreement with the authorities.
The ruble has also been under pressure in recent weeks due to lower oil prices and Western sanctions, which limit foreign investments and foreign currency supply from exporters.
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