Amid a surge in the Russian rouble and stocks, the Moscow Exchange (MOEX), the primary bourse in Russia, created chaos by abruptly suspending trading on Thursday, 13 February 2025, starting from 8:40 pm Moscow time. The halt was triggered by technical issues related to data transmission. Market participants were informed through an official statement from MOEX that trading would not resume for the evening session.

The rally in the Russian rouble and stocks earlier that day was instigated by a conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their discussion revolved around a potential peace agreement for Ukraine, leading to an upsurge in the rouble by 3.7%, closing at 90.50 against the dollar. The rouble briefly hit 89.90 during the trading session, marking its highest level since September 11, 2024. Reports from Russian media indicated that some foreign-exchange booths in Moscow had to shut down due to the rapid decline of the dollar.

This recent market volatility follows the imposition of US sanctions on Russia on June 12, 2024, aimed at disrupting financial flows supporting Russia’s military actions in Ukraine. Consequently, trading in US dollars and euros was suspended on the Moscow Exchange (MOEX).

The trading disruption on MOEX on February 13, 2025, is not an isolated incident. A similar occurrence took place on February 13, 2024, when MOEX halted trading on its stock market due to a hardware malfunction on its main server. Although stock market trading was put on hold, other markets like currency, derivatives, and precious metals continued without interruption.

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Moscow Exchange shut down all trading activities for almost a month, reopening with stringent limitations in March 2022. Despite the recurrent disruptions on the Moscow Exchange in 2024 and 2025, the exact cause of these interruptions remains unclear.

MOEX issued an apology for any inconvenience caused by the trading halt on February 13, 2025. The exchange’s history of trading disruptions raises concerns about its operational stability and the potential impact on market participants. Investors and analysts closely monitor these developments to gauge the reliability and resilience of the Moscow Exchange amidst ongoing market turbulence.