Russian ruble

Despite its collapse in 2018, last year the Russian currency managed to regain its ground. The ruble has fully won back earlier losses showing the best dynamics among the currencies of emerging markets. Early in 2019, USD was worth about 70 rubles, while by the New Year’s holidays the US dollar decreased to 62 rubles. According to experts, the ruble was mainly supported by the interest rate cuts introduced by the Bank of Russia, as well as by the increase in the value of federal loan bonds (OFZ). This allowed investors to boost their profit. Rising oil prices were also beneficial for the Russian currency.

Canadian dollar

Although CAD does not belong to the currencies of emerging markets, it has also been listed among the strongest currencies of 2019. In 2018, the loonie, as well as the ruble, were the outsiders of the market. That time, the Canadian dollar weakened due to the slump in oil prices which caused the long-term downtrend of the loonie. However, in 2019 the Canadian dollar managed to revive as the oil prices rebounded and the Fed changed its monetary policy. This positive background provided significant support for the Canadian currency which finished the year at its highest levels.

Japanese yen

The yen is one of the key world currencies although it is not related to the currencies of emerging markets. In 2019, the Japanese currency displayed remarkable resilience. In the first half of 2019, the yen was weak, but then it gained momentum, and in summer the USD/JPY pair hit the lows of 2017. At the end of 2018, the pair quotes peaked to 114 yen per US dollar which signaled the overall strengthening of the Japanese currency. The yen attracts investors as a safe-haven asset. The Japanese yen managed to maintain its status despite decades of negative interest rates and stagnation of the Japanese economy.

Ukrainian hryvnia

At the year-end, the Ukrainian hryvnia was considered the strongest currency of emerging markets. It showed impressive dynamics, having advanced against the US dollar by 16.5%. Experts believe that the hryvnia strengthened considerably when Volodymyr Zelensky became the president of Ukraine. This event coincided with the booming growth of assets of developing countries. Another reason for the rapid growth of the Ukrainian currency may be the implementation of market reforms in the country under the guidance of the IMF. These actions allowed the Bank of Ukraine to cut interest rates and stimulate economic growth. All the above mentioned factors contributed to the growing appeal of the Ukrainian hryvnia among investors.

Egyptian pound

The Egyptian pound holds a key position among currencies of emerging markets. In 2019, the currency of Egypt was trading below 17 pounds against the US dollar. However, by the end of the year, it advanced to 16 pounds per US dollar. In 2016, the Egyptian authorities gave up their attempts to peg the national currency to the greenback. This led to the pound’s collapse from 8.8 to 20 pounds against the American currency. As a result, exports increased benefitting from the weak national currency, while the trade deficit shrank. Besides, tourism and natural gas production began to actively develop. All these factors contributed to the strengthening of the national currency.