Surprise country with world’s best-performing currency is revealed

By PERKIN AMALARAJ

Published: 10:00 BST, 16 April 2025 | Updated: 10:08 BST, 16 April 2025

The Russian rouble has become the world’s best performing currency despite the volatility caused by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The rouble has rallied 38% against the US dollar since the start of the year, according to Bloomberg, after confidence in the American currency dramatically fell, and continues to fall, thanks to Donald Trump’s global trade war. 

Returns on investments in the rouble have massively outstripped the next best performing currencies, the Swedish kroner and the Swiss franc, which have gained 13% and 11% respectively. 

The British pound has risen by nearly 6% since the start of the year.  

The rouble has even outperformed gold and silver, both of which are ordinarily seen as safe havens for investors in turbulent economic periods. Gold rose by 23%, while silver went up by 12%. 

The rise in Vladimir Putin’s currency has been strengthened by Russia’s high interest rates, currently at 21%, as the nation’s central bank fights to temper inflation and bolster its war economy. 

On top of this, the currency is also under strict control from the Kremlin, which banned foreign firms from taking their assets out of Russia by requiring them to keep cash in special accounts. 

And it comes as many economies across the world face precarity thanks to Trump’s so-called Liberation Day tariffs, which saw the US impose massive levies on imports from almost every country on Earth to American consumers. 

Many economies across the world face precarity thanks to Trump’s so-called Liberation Day tariffs (File image of a pile of coins from across the world)

The Russian rouble has become the world’s best performing currency despite the volatility caused by Vladimir Putin’s (pictured) invasion of Ukraine

Confidence in the American currency dramatically fell, and continues to fall, thanks to Donald Trump’s (pictured) global trade war

Financial giants have already revealed their anxieties over the levies – Jamie Dimon, the JP Morgan chief executive, said a recession was the ‘likely outcome’ of them, while Larry Fink, the BlackRock boss, said the American economy may already be in a contraction. 

Banking giant Morgan Stanley earlier predicted that the US dollar would continue to fall against the Euro. 

So far, the European currency has gained more than 9% against the US dollar since the start of the year. 

Despite this, many on Wall Street were keen to underplay the severity of the recent dollar struggles. 

Jane Fraser, the Citigroup chief executive, said: ‘When all is said and done, and longstanding trade imbalances and other structural shifts are behind us, the US will still be the world’s leading economy, and the dollar will remain the reserve currency.’  

Yesterday, the London stock market clocked up a fourth day of gains and the pound rallied after Donald Trump’s right-hand man said there was a ‘good chance’ of a ‘great’ UK-US trade deal.

In another welcome boost for investors reeling from the US President’s on-off tariff war, the FTSE 100 jumped 1.4 per cent, or 114.78 points, to 8249.12.

That took gains since Thursday morning to more than 7 per cent, though the blue-chip index remains down over 4 per cent this month over fears a new era of protectionism will tip the global economy into recession.

Sterling was also on the march, rising as high as $1.3252, a level last seen in early October before Rachel Reeves’ £40billion tax raising Budget. 

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Surprise country with world’s best-performing currency is revealed

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