Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.
The week has started on a calmer note with news that US president Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have agreed to meet to discuss the Ukrainian crisis.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has invited Putin and Biden to attend a summit aimed at de-escalating the Ukraine crisis, and the leaders have agreed in principle, Macron’s office has announced, amid further US warnings that war is imminent.
The Russian rouble fell to a one-week low but has since recovered to trade up 1% against the dollar. It is now at 76.5 after touching 77.69 in early trade.
While tensions on the Ukraine-Russia border ramped up over the weekend, European markets are expected to rise slightly at the open. US markets are off for President’s Day.
Brent crude, the global benchmark for Russia’s main export (oil), is down a fraction at $93.45 a barrel. Gold – seen as a safe haven investment in times of trouble – has eased 0.5% to $1,888.54 an…
