US dollar futures on the Moscow Exchange experienced an abrupt and unexplained drop on Monday.
At precisely 11:29 a.m. Moscow time, the June dollar futures contract tumbled by more than 8 percent from Friday’s close, hitting a low of 73,406 rubles — a rate equivalent to 73.4 rubles to the dollar. Within the next minute, the contract rebounded, trading at 79,577 rubles, a decline of just 0.5 percent compared to the previous session’s close.
The unexpected swing rippled across the exchange, affecting longer-term contracts maturing in September and December, as well as euro futures, though to a lesser extent.
A similar episode occurred in late March during a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald J. Trump, when the exchange's main index fell more than 1 percent in under a minute before quickly recovering.