The irresistible rise of the rouble.

This article reports on the rise in the value of rouble (R), the Russian currency. Explaining movements in national currencies is more of an art than a science at the best of times. But in the hurly-burly of pre-election Russia, the rouble has become as much a political as an economic animal. Analysts have done better ignoring the underlying fundamentals altogether in recent weeks. From an all-time low of R 5,130 to the dollar at the end of April 1995, the rouble had risen 12% by June. In fact, Russia's real exchange rate the nominal figure adjusted for inflation, has been quietly appreciating since last October's crash. For the four months between then and February, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) bought roubles on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange. By limiting the nominal decline to a rate just less than inflation, acting central bank governor Tatyana Paramonova had returned to the CBR's precrash policy of maintaining a stable, but slightly-appreciating real exchange rate.