Ruble Sharply Rises Against Yuan as Bank of Russia Lowers Rate

On June 6, the Bank of Russia lowered the key interest rate to 20%. Prior to this, the bank had kept it unchanged at 21% for four consecutive times.

Photo: Openverse by Japanexperterna.se, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Юани

The ruble sharply strengthened against the yuan on the Moscow Exchange following the Bank of Russia's decision to cut the key rate. As of 13:29 Moscow time, the yuan-to-ruble exchange rate (CNY/RUB) was ₽11.048, while by 13:34 Moscow time the Chinese currency traded at ₽10.998. Compared to the previous trading session's closing level, the yuan rose by 0.27% at that moment.

The official exchange rates set by the Central Bank for Friday, June 6, are:

• ₽79.1272 per US dollar,
• ₽90.6635 per euro,
• and ₽11.0208 per yuan.

Friday saw the fourth monetary policy meeting of the Bank of Russia in 2025. The Central Bank's Board of Directors decided to reduce the key rate to 20%. Previously, at the last four meetings, the Bank had maintained the rate at 21%.

A cut in the Central Bank's key rate usually stimulates a local weakening of the national currency worldwide. However, a sharp reaction for the ruble is not expected, and in the coming days, the dollar-to-ruble rate will likely consolidate around ₽80.

A medium-term cycle of key rate cuts by the Bank of Russia will gradually make ruble assets less attractive. Once the yield on foreign currency investments approaches that of ruble instruments, households and businesses will likely shift demand toward foreign currency assets. This scenario becomes possible when the dollar rate recovers to about ₽90-93. Surpassing this threshold will reinforce the trend of foreign currencies strengthening against the ruble, Finam analysts say.