Bloomberg analysts acknowledged that the Russian ruble has become the best among the world's largest currencies in strengthening against the US dollar since the beginning of the year, ahead of the Brazilian real in the rating. In particular, the ruble exchange rate increased by 11% in five and a half months of 2022, while the real added only 9% to the dollar. At the same time, experts suggest that the exchange rate may not correspond to the real exchange rate. Bloomberg also emphasizes that the leadership of the ruble was secured mainly due to the economic measures introduced by Russia. Thus, the Russian Federation introduced capital controls, obliged exporters to sell foreign currency and transferred payment for gas exports to unfriendly countries to rubles. However, many are surprised by the strengthening of the Russian currency against the background of a special military operation, since a number of other countries that also tried to control the movement of capital could not achieve a similar result. For example, Turkey and Argentina still cannot recover their currencies after the fall. Experts expect that in May, the Russian currency may strengthen to 60 rubles against the US dollar. At the same time, the national currency is expected to weaken later, as imports are likely to grow and exports will decrease due to possible sanctions restrictions. According to some estimates, from the end of the second quarter of 2022, the ruble will gradually weaken to 75 rubles per dollar by the end of the year.
