Year of the ruble: Commodities to push Russian currency higher in 2021, Saxo Bank predicts

The Russian ruble is currently “undervalued” and has the potential to strengthen by over 10 percent against the US dollar, according to the Chief Investment Officer of Saxo Bank Steen Jakobsen.

“Trading the USD/RUB [dollar/ruble] pair is relatively easy because we know where to stop: if the close was above 83 rubles per dollar for two days in a row, then you have to go out. But for now, I would take long positions against the ruble, because in the long term, the exchange rate may strengthen up to 65–66 rubles,” Jakobsen said in an interview with RIA Novosti. 

He noted that 2021 will be the “year of commodities,” where "Russia has large capacities that will bring it an advantage.”

The strengthening of the ruble next year has been also projected by the head of Russia’s Sberbank Herman Gref. According to him, that will happen if the geopolitical and epidemiological situation in Russia stabilizes. Gref expects a full recovery of the Russian economy by 2022. 

The Chairman of Russia’s Accounts Chamber and former Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin said earlier that the ruble exchange rate would remain near current values until the end of 2021. He advised keeping some savings in rubles.

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