Support The Moscow Times!

Russian Ruble Firms on Higher Oil Price, ECB Decision on Bond-Buying

A woman is reflected in a window as she walks near a board displaying currency exchange rates in Moscow.

The ruble firmed to multi-month highs on Thursday, supported by higher oil prices and comments by a senior Russian official who said the ruble remained undervalued.

The European Central Bank's decision to start a bond-buying program that could potentially affect flows of funds into emerging markets such as Russia, also helped.

At 5:07 p.m., the ruble was around 1.5 percent stronger at 60.96 against the dollar, near its highest since early January. It had gained 2.2 percent to 67.15 versus the euro to trade at its strongest since the end of December.

Brent oil prices rose above $61 per barrel. "This level of oil is quite comfortable for the ruble," VTB Capital analysts said in a note.

Russia's Central Bank First Deputy Governor Dmitry Tulin said in an interview on Thursday that the ruble remained about 10 percent undervalued.

This followed a recent release of Finance Ministry amendments to the 2015 budget which is calculated on an average rate of 61.5 rubles to the dollar.

"Magically, the dollar in the Russian foreign exchange market has been oscillating around that level," Alexandr Yegorov, an analyst at TeleTrade investment house, said in a note.

"Apparently, the market has taken those verbal interventions more seriously."

The ECB said on Thursday that it would start buying bonds, worth 60 billion euros per month on March 9, boosting optimism in emerging markets.

Russian stock indexes also rose, with the dollar-based RTS index was up 2.9 percent to 916 points, while the ruble-based MICEX was up 0.8 percent to 1,772 points.

Indexes fell around 3 percent on Wednesday, in part because of the extension of Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia by the United States.

"Russian stock indexes could even correct upwards following the grandiose fall on the previous day," Sosnova said. "A positive factor for Russian market participants is the fact that Brent continues to trade in the range $60-63 per barrel."

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more