"First

 

one down the rabbit hole comes out the strongest" 

I remember somebody saying...yup...

Russia's ruble is the strongest currency in the world this year

The Russian ruble is the best-performing currency in the world this year.

Two months after the ruble's value fell to less than a U.S. penny amid the swiftest, toughest economic sanctions in modern history,  Russia's currency has mounted a stunning turnaround. The ruble has jumped 40% against the dollar since January. 

"It's an unusual situation," said Jeffrey Frankel, professor of capital formation and growth at the Harvard Kennedy School."

"Russia's unusually aggressive measures to keep money from leaving the country, in combination with the forcefulness of Western sanctions, are working to create demand for rubles and pushing up its value.  

The ruble's resiliency means that Russia is partly insulated from the punishing economic penalties imposed by Western nations after its invasion of Ukraine, although how long that protection will last is uncertain."

(Just like somebody told you they would be)

"Why the ruble recovered

The main reason for the ruble's recovery is soaring commodity prices. After Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, already high oil and natural gas prices rose even further.

"Commodity prices are currently sky-high, and even though there is a drop in the volume of Russian exports due to embargoes and sanctioning, the increase in commodity prices more than compensates for these drops," said Tatiana Orlova, lead emerging markets economist at Oxford Economics.

Russia is pulling in nearly $20 billion a month from energy exports. Since the end of March, many foreign buyers have complied with a demand to pay for energy in rubles, pushing up the currency's value."

(Almost like somebody in Moscow was kinda counting on that, yup...)