MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Russian rouble reversed losses against the dollar and rose against China’s yuan after U.S. President Donald Trump warned he would impose “very severe tariffs” on Russia if no deal on a peaceful settlement is made in 50 days.
As of 1605 GMT, the rouble was 0.2% weaker at 78.10 per U.S. dollar after hitting 78.75 during the day, according to LSEG data based on over-the-counter quotes. The rouble is up about 45% against the dollar since the start of the year.
Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine on Monday and threatened to hit buyers of Russian exports with sanctions, expressing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin due to the lack of progress in ending the war in Ukraine.
“Trump performed below market expectations,” said analyst Artyom Nikolayev from Invest Era. “He gave 50 days during which the Russian leadership can come up with something and extend the negotiation track. Moreover, Trump likes to postpone and extend such deadlines.”
Against the Chinese yuan, the most traded foreign currency in Russia, the rouble strengthened 0.8% to 10.87 after weakening by over 1% on Friday.
The Russian stock market rose 2.7% after Trump’s statement, according to the Moscow Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Richard Chang)
