Sign up to create alerts for Instruments,
Economic Events and content by followed authors
Free Sign Up Already have an account? Sign In
Quotes
All Instrument Types
- All Instrument Types
- Indices
- Equities
- ETFs
- Funds
- Commodities
- Currencies
- Crypto
- Bonds
- Certificates
Please try another search
New Year’s SALE: Up to 40% OFF InvestingPro+ CLAIM OFFER
Rouble firms towards 61 vs dollar despite EU sanctions
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A picture illustration shows U.S. Dollar and Russian Ruble banknotes in Sarajevo, March 9, 2015. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
(Reuters) -The Russian rouble reversed earlier losses and firmed towards 61 against the dollar in volatile trade on Tuesday as capital controls helped to offset downside pressure from concerns about new European sanctions against Moscow.
European Union leaders agreed in principle on Monday to cut 90% of oil imports from Russia by year-end and on other sanctions, such as cutting Sberbank from the SWIFT transaction network, to punish Moscow for its intervention in Ukraine.
At 0949 GMT, the rouble was 1.6% stronger against the dollar at 61.23, heading away from the session low of 63.46. Last Wednesday it hit 55.80 to the dollar, its strongest since February 2018, before falling to 66.70 by the end of the week.
"It looks like the local currency should be able to gain a foothold around 60 by the end of the day," Sberbank CIB said in a note.
Cash dollars in Russia remained notably more expensive than on the Moscow Exchange. Russia's second-largest lender VTB offered to sell the U.S. currency for 84 roubles.
Against the euro, the rouble gained 3.4% to 62.10, having last Wednesday hit a seven-year high of 57.10, at the peak of month-end tax payments that usually prompt export-focused companies to convert foreign currency to meet liabilities.
Boosted by capital controls, the rouble had risen to become the world's best-performing currency so far this year until last week's slide. New gas payment terms for EU consumers that require conversion of foreign currency into roubles and a fall in imports have also supported the rouble.
Russian stock indexes were mixed.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was flat at 1,215.6 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index shed 1.5% to 2,363.9 points.
Shares in Sberbank, Russia's No.1 lender, slightly underperformed the broader market and fell 1.9% on the day after the EU agreement on new sanctions. The bank said the move to cut it from the SWIFT messaging system would not affect its operations.
For Russian equities guide see
For Russian treasury bonds see
Related Articles
Add Chart to Comment
Confirm Block
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
Report this comment
I feel that this comment is:
Comment flagged
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.