The Russian ruble is at its lowest level in a year on speculation Shell is going to repatriate $1 billion of recent earnings

• The Russia ruble fell to its lowest since April 2022 amid speculation Shell could repatriate $1.2 billion of the currency.
• This comes amid a growing liquidity crunch and foreign flight on the back of Western sanctions.
• Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan recently surpassed the US dollar as the most traded currency in Russia.

Recent reports that Shell plans to repatriate more than $1 billion in ruble earnings has led to the latest leg down in the Russian currency, pushing it past a psychologically important level of 80 rubles per dollar.

Trading at 81.6 rubles on Thursday, this marks the currency's lowest level since April 2022.