TOKYO – The rouble stabilized somewhat on Tuesday after its crash to an all-time low, while the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc were steady after their biggest rallies in almost seven weeks with traders focused squarely on the developing crisis in Ukraine.
A modicum of calm returned to currency markets after officials from Russia and Ukraine held an initial round of ceasefire talks, four days after Russia invaded its neighbor, with the euro back at around $1.12 after tumbling as low as $1.11210 at one point on Monday.
The risk-sensitive Australian dollar traded at a nearly one-week high, rebounding from losses as steep as 1.2 percent in the previous session. The Reserve Bank of Australia sets monetary policy later on Tuesday, and is widely expected to hold the key rate at a record low.
Leading cryptocurrency bitcoin held close to a nearly two-week high above $44,000 reached late overnight.
The rouble started the week in dramatic circumstance, plunging as much as 30 percent to a record 120 per dollar after Western countries and their allies slapped Russia with new sanctions including cutting off some banks from the SWIFT financial network. The currency recovered somewhat after an emergency rate hike and other urgent measures adopted by the Russian central bank, and last traded at 102.
The yen eased slightly to 115.07 per dollar after registering a 0.48 percent gain on Monday. Fellow haven currency the Swiss franc edged lower to 0.91775 per dollar after a 0.95 percent rally overnight.
Currency volatility was at its highest in 14 months on Monday, as measured by a Deutsche Bank index.
