© Reuters. An image shows Russian ruble coins in this illustration taken on October 26, 2018. Photo taken on October 26, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
by Alexandre Maru
(Reuters) – The Russian ruble fell to its lowest level in more than 15 months against the dollar and the euro on Friday, weighed down by domestic concerns about political risks after an unknown armed rebellion at the weekend and lacking any supportive drivers.
By 1000 GMT, the ruble was 0.8% weaker against the dollar at 88.25 after earlier hitting 88.6775, its weakest point since March 29, 2022.
It lost 0.7% to trade at 95.78 per euro, after also hitting a 15-month low of 96.3225. It fell 0.6 percent against the yuan to 12.13, earlier hitting the lowest level in more than 14 months.
“The ruble continues to collapse,” Allure Broker said in a note. And it lost another 1.4% of its value yesterday, despite the stabilization of oil prices.
“The goal of the dollar-ruble pair 90 is approaching and is likely to be achieved.”
Capital controls have helped isolate the ruble from geopolitics in the 16 months since Russia invaded Ukraine, but mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s aborted weekend march on Moscow reverberated through markets and left questions about President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power.
The ruble lost a key support factor on Wednesday as a tax period passed at the end of the month that typically sees exporters shifting foreign currency earnings to meet domestic obligations.
Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia Alexei Zabotkin said that lower export earnings and balance of payments were determining the ruble’s weakness, which he said did not carry risks to financial stability.
“But the dynamics of the exchange rate will certainly be taken into account at the next board meeting on the main rate in terms of clarifying the impact … on the dynamics of inflation this year,” the Interfax news agency quoted Zabotkin as saying on Friday.
The global benchmark for major Russian exports rose 0.6 percent to $74.75 a barrel.
Russian stock indices were lower.
The dollar-denominated RTS index fell 1.3% to 994.0 points. Russia’s ruble-based MOEX fell 0.4% to 2,784.6 points.
Shares in Gazprom (MCX:) fell by about 0.7% after the energy group’s shareholders accepted the board’s recommendation not to pay 2022 dividends in full after appropriating semi-annual dividends of 1.2 trillion rubles ($13.6 billion).
($1 = 88.2200 rubles)
