(Reuters) – The Russian rouble opened at a near 15-month low against the dollar in early morning trade on Monday, responding for the first time to an aborted mutiny by heavily armed mercenaries over the weekend.
By 0415 GMT, the rouble was 2.1% weaker against the dollar at 86.50, after earlier hitting 87.2300, its weakest point since late March 2022.
It had lost 2.2% to trade at 94.37 versus the euro and shed 2.1% against the yuan to 11.95.
Russian mercenaries led by Yevgeny Prigozhin withdrew from the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don overnight on Saturday under a deal that halted their rapid advance on Moscow but left unanswered questions about President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power.
With the rouble not trading over the weekend, Russian banks were offering exchange rates well above official rate beyond 90 to the dollar. Monday’s full trading session begins at 0700 GMT.
Investors globally were watching for ripple effects from the aborted mutiny, with some expecting a move into safe havens such as U.S. government bonds and the dollar.
The development has also revived an old fear in Washington about what happens to Russia’s nuclear stockpile in the event of domestic upheaval.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was up 0.2% at $74.03 a barrel.
(Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Kim Coghill)
