Ruble appreciates and all stock market sectors go up between December and January
In December—January, the ruble gained 9% against the US dollar despite the latter’s strengthening in the global market. The ruble appreciated as the economy adapted to the new structure of foreign trade settlements in response to sanctions imposed against Russian banks in November.
In late 2024, the trend in the stock market changed: the decline of the MOEX Russia Index observed in 2024 H2 stopped. As of the end of December—January, it rose by 14.4%. The volatility of the stock market decreased: the RVI dropped from 55.6 p at the beginning of December to 34.3 p at the end of January. OFZ yields began to decline after the Bank of Russia’s December decision to keep the key rate at 21%.
Last year, the gold price gained almost 45% in ruble terms, with gold showing the highest return among Russian market instruments. Amid high interest rates, the return on money market funds and deposits (both ruble- and foreign currency-denominated ones) exceeded inflation.
In January, the trend changed when the highest return was received on the shares of construction companies, which had recovered last year’s losses. The return on gold and ruble deposits was still above inflation, while US dollar- and euro-denominated deposits showed a negative return amid a stronger ruble.
More details are available in the new issue of the Financial Market Risks Review.