It’s Crunch Time for Traders Juggling Russia Default Risk, Fed
- Russia is due to pay a coupon on its sovereign debt Wednesday
- The U.S. Federal Reserve is meeting to discuss monetary policy
Markets are starting a jampacked week that will test whether Russia plans to repay its international debt and will likely see the Federal Reserve raise interest rates for the first time since 2018.
The Russian ruble was indicated stronger versus the dollar in early offshore trading, with the U.S. and China set to hold their first high-level, in-person talks amid reports that Russia has asked China for military equipment. Resource-linked currencies strengthened, with Norway’s krone, and the dollars of Canada and New Zealand advancing against their U.S. counterpart. However, expectations for tighter U.S. monetary policy to tackle raging inflation could see the dollar regain its strength in days to come after a gauge of the currency ended last week near a 20-month high. Yields on U.S. Treasuries have also soared in anticipation.