Russian rouble strengthens past 90 to the US dollar
At 1000 GMT, the rouble was up 1.1% at 88.70 against the dollar in the over-the-counter market, maintaining a break of the 90 level in a sustainable way for the first time since September.
"More positive geopolitical news could push the rouble even higher," Alor brokerage analysts said in a research note.
The rouble was also up 1.8% at 12.12 against China's yuan, the most traded foreign currency in Russia, in trade on the Moscow stock exchange.
The Russian currency has gained almost 22% against the dollar this year, mostly on expectations of easing geopolitical tensions between Russia and the West.
(Reporting by Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
6 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Trump 'caught off guard' by Israeli strikes on Syria, White House says
US President Donald Trump was "caught off guard" by Israel's bombing of Syria, the White House said on Monday, signalling a potentially new sour point in his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "He was caught off guard by the bombing in Syria and also the bombing of the Catholic Church in Gaza," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Her remarks come after Middle East Eye first reported that the US was "upset" by Israel's targeting of Syrian forces entering the country's south and the strikes on Syria's ministry of defence and the outskirts of the presidential palace. Middle East Eye also reported that Saudi Arabia was "angry" about Israel attacking Syrian soldiers and dictating military deployments to Damascus. Sweida has been the site of sectarian violence between the majority Druze community and Sunni Bedouins. Israel has framed its military intervention as being in support of the Syrian Druze. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Current and former Arab, Israeli, and US officials say Israel is trying to carve out a zone of influence in Syria that conflicts directly with the vision of a unitary post-war Syria put forward by Tom Barrack, Trump's special envoy and ambassador to Turkey. With Damascus strikes, Israel seeks to tear up Trump's vision for Syria Read More » "I think Potus and others in the administration have been crystal clear about the path for Syria," a US official in the region who was monitoring the Israeli strikes told MEE last week, referring to President Trump. MEE reported on Friday that Saudi Arabia told the Trump administration that Syrian security forces should be able to deploy to Sweida. A fragile ceasefire struck late last week was holding on Monday amid reports of atrocities committed by both sides. Israel's strikes came as the US was trying to broker a normalisation of ties between Syria and Israel. The Trump administration has heralded Syria as a model for its version of Middle East statecraft underwritten by Turkish military might and Gulf cash. Trump announced in May that he was lifting all US sanctions on Syria despite objections from Israel and some of his own advisors. Trump said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were responsible for convincing him to make the decision.
Gulf Today
7 hours ago
- Gulf Today
California can fix Donald Trump's EV mistake
Mike Murphy, Tribune News Service When he signed his budget bill into law on July 4, President Donald Trump dealt a heavy blow to America's electric vehicle industry, ending most federal support for US electric vehicle manufacturing and hobbling automakers' $100 billion effort to catch up with China, the world's new automotive manufacturing superpower. Now California alone has the size and market power to fill the void left by Washington's surrender. Our leaders in Sacramento must step up. The gutting of EV support never got the national debate it deserved. Americans, including many in Congress, fail to see the real EV issue: China. As the world moves toward a future auto market dominated by electric vehicles — a reality no global auto executive doubts — China has seized the opportunity. It's China, not the United States, the European Union or Japan, that now rules global automotive manufacturing. For every car, SUV or pickup built in America, China builds about three, and the Chinese have the manufacturing muscle to build five. Detroit understands this. Along with their European and Asian peers, US automakers have invested tens of billions in North American factories to build the next generation of EVs and compete in global markets. This month at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley put it bluntly: 'If we lose this (the race for EVs), we do not have a future Ford.' Unfortunately, the Trump administration is forcing free-world automakers to race against China at a disadvantage. Chinese automakers, awash in government help and subsidies, now manufacture 70% of the world's EVs. Their advanced, low-priced cars are quickly taking market share in Australia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Mexico is a sobering example. In 2017, 1% of Mexican cars came from China. Last year that number was 20%. Despite China's success, have no doubt that US, European, South Korean and Japanese automakers can compete. Much of the EV technology that the Chinese have exploited was first developed in the United States. Although China has more than 100 EV brands, only a handful are profitable; many will fade away. For America and its allies to compete in this race, carmakers must succeed in their anchor American market. (Remember, most foreign car companies — Hyundai, Kia, BMW, Volkswagen and Mercedes — build EVs in the United States, employing thousands of Americans.) What makes California so important? First, it's America's EV leader; over a third of all US EV sales are here; 1 in 4 cars sold in California is electric. Second, California is on the front line of the US auto industry's research and development battle with China. Lucid developed its world-class power train technology in Orange County. Rivian, in Irvine, licensed its world-class software and electrical architecture to Volkswagen for billions. Tesla has two large factories and several labs here, employing more than 40,000 workers. Ford, the pride of Detroit, has bet the company's future on a California skunkworks, where hundreds of engineers are working on a new, affordable EV platform designed to compete worldwide. What can California do to fill the massive void in EV support left by Washington? Plenty. Here are three priorities: Until Sept. 30, buying or leasing a new EV still qualifies for a $7,500 federal credit. When that ends, California should replace it with a $3,500 state credit to lower most lease payments by nearly $100 a month (as any auto salesman knows, consumers make their decisions based more on monthly payments, not total cost.) The $3,500 credit should also apply to used EV sales. The state has a tangle of consumer EV subsidies; this simple approach should replace them. To control costs to taxpayers, lawmakers could make these 'conquest' credits — that is, they would be limited to first-time EV buyers and leasers. This program should not have income limits. The more new EV drivers the better because data show that most consumers happily stick with EVs once they have leased or bought one. Income limits would simply limit sales volume. Many Californians in large metropolitan areas such as LA or San Francisco live in apartments or condos without the convenience and cost savings of overnight charging. Instead, they are often forced to wait in line at fast-charging stations, where electricity prices are usually higher than at home. This lack of apartment and condo chargers is a 'pinch point' in the EV market that California could take the lead in solving.
Gulf Today
7 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Ryanair's profit more than doubled in April
Ryanair's net profit more than doubled in its April-June quarter on higher-than-expected last-minute fares and the timing of the Easter holidays, while bookings for rest of the summer are 'robust', Europe's largest low-cost carrier said on Monday. The Irish airline, Europe's largest by passenger numbers, said it was not seeing a negative trend of later-than-normal bookings reported by some rivals. 'Across the piece, bookings are good,' Chief Financial Officer Neil Sorahan said, describing consumer confidence as 'very strong.' Shares in the airline were up 6.5 per cent at 24.58 euros at 0725 GMT, just below the all-time high of 24.98 recorded on July 8. Ryanair reported a net profit of 820 million euros ($953 million) for its first quarter, which ended on June 30, up from 360 million euros in the same period last year when Easter was in March - and up from 663 million in the same period of 2023, the last time Easter was in April. A Ryanair poll of analysts had expected 716 million euros. Average fares rose 21% in the quarter, more than recovering the 15% fall recorded in the period last year. In the July-September quarter, when European airlines make most of their profit, Ryanair expects to recover 'almost all' of the 7 per cent fare decline seen last year, when it was hit by weak consumer sentiment and a dispute with some online travel agents. In June, Ryanair forecast that 'some of' the 7 per cent would be recovered. Asked about recent commentary from British low-cost rivals EasyJet and Jet2 that customers were booking later, Sorahan said: 'We're not seeing those kind of trends at all.' Rivals are likely seeing a negative impact from the resolution of Ryanair's dispute with online travel agents, he said. Reuters
