USD/RUB - Regime Change IndicatorRegime Change Indicator
The Russian ruble will let us know when the madness might end.
The Russian ruble has halved in value over the last four months, accelerating that trend recently, coincident with economic sanctions being imposed by governments and by corporations themselves. At the start of the war, some economists noted that the Russian economy might be able to withstand sanctions given that it has made itself less reliant on foreign capital over the past decade. This is up for debate, but what is not, is the prospect of rampant consumer price inflation and increasing unemployment in Russia.
Attention is turning to how long the Putin regime can last before the Russian people rise up against it. Perhaps Elliott waves can give us a clue as to when that might happen.
Should the Putin regime be toppled, it will no doubt be subsequent to, or coincident with, an appreciating ruble. The chart of USD-RUB offers a compelling wave count whereby a Fibonacci 13-year advance in USD-RUB (depreciating ruble) is coming to an end. Within this count, Primary degree wave 5 (circled) will equal 1.618 times the length of waves 1 through 3 at 167.32 (a typical turning point when wave 5 is extended). This count also offers an Elliott channel target, connecting waves 2 and 4 and paralleling from wave 3, which comes in around current levels.
Thus, there appears to be quite strong evidence that USD-RUB is close to a top (i.e., a low in the ruble). Of course, the ruble can appreciate without the Putin regime being toppled but given the zeitgeist, a lasting low in the ruble (top in USD-RUB) would seem to be probable only with Russia re-entering the global economy, and that would mean Putin no longer being there.
If this wave count is correct, therefore, it might be a sign of hope that the madness will end soon.
