The fighting in Georgia which began as Russian troops invaded the country a few days ago appears to have reached a calming point. Russain president, Dmitri Medvedev, announced that Russian forces have ceased their advance inside Georgia.
After yesterday, when Russian troops caused a mass retreat of Georgian forces in the direction of their capital of Tblisi, it was feared that Russia was intent on capturing the Georgian capital and overthrow its pro-western government.
The Russian stock exchange, which began the day at a 2% decline, surged as the news became public. The Russian currency, the Ruble, wasn’t far behind.
The Russian Currency is now trading at a 1.2% increase Vs. the USD to a level of 24.14 Rubles per Dollar, and a 1.1% increase vs. the Euro to a level of 36.06 Rubles per Euro.
It is still impossible to tell whether this ceasefire will hold. And russian forces are still consolidating their positions inside Georgia and show little intention of leaving. It can be that the Russian government is simply waiting for the slightest excuse to continue it’s advance further into Georgia. If that happens, the Ruble will plummet faster than it has risen.
However, for the time being, it seems that the Ruble may experience a continued increase in value in relations to most major currencies.
