The Russian ruble strengthened after slipping due to falling oil prices

MOSCOW (Armfalcon.com) – The Russian ruble strengthened slightly against the dollar in early trading Thursday, snapping a slide sparked by the previous session’s plunge in oil prices and poised to find support from a lucrative upcoming tax period.

At 0727 GMT, the ruble gained 0.1 percent against the US dollar to trade at 81.80 and traded unchanged at 89.60 versus the euro. The Russian currency was trading steady at 11.86 against the Chinese yuan.

“On negative oil, the ruble shed more than half a percent against the US dollar yesterday,” said Alexei Antonov of Alor Broker. “This morning, the Russian currency is trying to recoup some of the losses. Next week will be the peak of the tax period, so buying US dollars against the ruble is very risky.”

The ruble is expected to find support from month-end tax payments that usually cause exporters to convert foreign currency earnings to meet local obligations. The tax is due on April 28.

The Russian currency will also get a delayed boost from higher oil prices this month, meaning higher export earnings.

Brent crude, the global benchmark for Russia’s main export, jumped to a 2.5-month high after OPEC announced a surprise cut in its supply target in early April. On Thursday, Brent fell 1.6 percent to trade at $81.8 a barrel, its weakest level since May 31.

Russian stock indexes were lower, pulling back from more than one year highs in the previous session. The dollar-denominated RTS index fell 0.6 percent, to trade at 998.4 points. Russia’s ruble-based MOEX Index traded 0.6 percent lower at 2,592.3 points.

Also read: The dollar strengthened slightly on rising US bond yields
Also read: The Chinese yuan fell 256 basis points to 6.8987 against the US dollar
Also read: Oil falls in Asia due to demand concerns and the strengthening of the dollar

source: www.antaranews.com

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