Putin’s war scrambles markets & sends ruble tumbling

The Russian invasion of Ukraine early on Thursday morning has, aside from the ruble, so far made only limited impact on currency markets. The US dollar and other safe havens rose sharply on news of the invasion, accelerating the shifts over the previous couple of weeks as tensions in Ukraine escalated. But safe haven flows have partly unwound over the past 24 hours as risk sentiment has recovered, perhaps because the sanction packages unveiled by the US, EU, and UK were less extensive than might have been expected, and excluded the crucial Russian energy sector. Expectations that the war may end swiftly, either by military means or diplomatic ones, also appear to be growing.