The Russian ruble stabilized against the dollar after the drop in oil prices

MOSCOW (Armfalcon.com) – The Russian ruble was steady in early trade Wednesday, hovering near 79.5 to the dollar, brushing aside a slide in oil prices as traders await two auctions of government notes.

At 0724 GMT, the ruble strengthened 0.1 percent against the dollar to trade at 79.52 and was also up 0.1 percent to trade at 87.71 versus the euro. The Russian currency strengthened 0.3 percent against the yuan to trade at 11.46.

The ruble strengthened on Tuesday (2/5/2023) as Russian markets reopened after a long holiday weekend and continued to assess the outlook for interest rates. The central bank kept interest rates on hold on Friday (28/4/2023), but said it would consider more rate hikes.

Potentially affecting the value of Russian crude exports, oil prices fell by around 5.0 percent to a five-week low on Tuesday (2/5/2023) amid worries about the global economy as US politicians discuss ways to avoid debt default and investors prepare for further rate hikes this week.

“Basically, the ruble’s position was strengthened by the recent high oil prices and the lower Urals discount against Brent,” said Alor Broker analyst Alexei Antonov.

“However, in the worst case scenario, that is, oil falls below US$70, the ruble will not survive.”

At the same time, he said a move to the next level of resistance at 77.50 against the dollar was a possibility.

Brent crude, the global benchmark for Russia’s main export, fell 0.1 percent to trade at $75.23 a barrel.

Russian stock indexes were lower. The dollar-denominated RTS index fell 0.1 percent to trade at 1,018.37 points. Russia’s ruble-based MOEX Index traded 0.2 percent lower at 2,574.70 points.

The finance ministry will hold two OFZ sovereign bond auctions on Wednesday.

Also read: The US dollar weakened slightly in response to employment data, the focus of the Fed’s decision
Also read: Malaysia surprisingly raised its benchmark interest rate to 3.0 percent
Also read: Oil continues losses in Asia, investors face rising interest rates

source: www.antaranews.com

Source link