LONDON- Sovereign dollar bonds issued by Ukraine and Russia rallied sharply on Thursday after Moscow ordered its top army command to begin returning troops to their permanent bases inside the country.
Ukraine's longer-dated bonds had the biggest gains, with the 2032 issue jumping 2.4 cents in the dollar to 103.4 cents, levels last seen mid-March, Tradeweb data showed. Russia's 2047 bond rose 1.6 cents to 124.3 cents, the highest since early March.
Currencies also jumped, with Russia's rouble strengthening 1.7% while Ukraine's hryvnia gained 0.6%.
Russia ordered its top army command to begin returning troops to their permanent bases inside the country from Friday, saying it had successfully completed a "snap inspection" of forces in its south and west, near the border with Ukraine, the RIA news agency reported.
(Reporting by Karin Strohecker; Editing by Tom Arnold) ((karin.strohecker@thomsonreuters.com; +442075427262; Reuters Messaging: karin.strohecker.reuters.com@reuters.net))
