The Russian currency had the first gains after three days of losses versus the greenback as the crude oil rates climbed on speculations that demand will rise, suggesting that the one of the main global oil producers will export more of its commodities.
Russia is one of the main suppliers of energy for the European Union and since the first signs of economic recovery started to appear in the beginning of the year, the oil, one of Russia’s main natural resource has doubled its price, providing support for the Russian currency to remain rather strong despite the credit crunch and banking sector issues in the country. After a rather negative week, the ruble managed to climb versus the U.S. dollar as companies taxes were published today in Russia, with a significant amount of money flowing into government accounts, rising confidence towards the ruble outlook.
As the winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere it is likely that the crude oil rates will climb even further, which would maintain the Russian currency in the band of fluctuation suggested by the government to protect exporters without measures to be taken by the Bank of Russia. The ruble is likely to remain neutral for the short-term without massive volatility to be expected.
USD/RUB traded at 31.55 as of 11:58 GMT from a closing rate yesterday in Moscow of 31.68.
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