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MOSCOW: The Russian rouble climbed to a more than seven-week high against the dollar on Friday, boosted by the state’s new foreign currency interventions plan and higher oil prices after Western strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen.
Russia’s finance ministry will switch to foreign currency sales from purchases in the coming weeks, it said on Thursday, after December oil and gas revenue was lower than expected. The move is widely expected to buttress the currency.
The rouble gained 0.6% against the dollar to reach 88.09 by 0727 GMT for its strongest since Nov. 23.
It firmed by 0.5% to 99.67 versus the euro and was up 0.6% against the yuan at 12.25.
Taking all state foreign exchange interventions into account, Russia is set to sell the equivalent of 16.7 billion roubles ($189.5 million) a day during the second half of January.
Exporters have been selling accumulated foreign currency revenue since Russian markets reopened fully on Jan. 9 after the New Year holidays.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was up 1.9% at $78.91 a barrel.
Oil prices were rising after the United States and Britain said they launched strikes from air and sea against Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the group’s attacks on ships in the Red Sea – a dramatic regional widening of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Russian stock indexes were mixed.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.4% at 1,136.7 points, its strongest since late November. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.1% down at 3,178.2 points.
For Russian equities guide see
For Russian treasury bonds see ($1 = 88.1200 roubles)
Russia’s finance ministry will switch to foreign currency sales from purchases in the coming weeks, it said on Thursday, after December oil and gas revenue was lower than expected. The move is widely expected to buttress the currency.
The rouble gained 0.6% against the dollar to reach 88.09 by 0727 GMT for its strongest since Nov. 23.
It firmed by 0.5% to 99.67 versus the euro and was up 0.6% against the yuan at 12.25.
Taking all state foreign exchange interventions into account, Russia is set to sell the equivalent of 16.7 billion roubles ($189.5 million) a day during the second half of January.
Exporters have been selling accumulated foreign currency revenue since Russian markets reopened fully on Jan. 9 after the New Year holidays.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was up 1.9% at $78.91 a barrel.
Oil prices were rising after the United States and Britain said they launched strikes from air and sea against Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the group’s attacks on ships in the Red Sea – a dramatic regional widening of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Russian stock indexes were mixed.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.4% at 1,136.7 points, its strongest since late November. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.1% down at 3,178.2 points.
For Russian equities guide see
For Russian treasury bonds see ($1 = 88.1200 roubles)
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