The ruble weakened for a second day versus the dollar as oil, Russia’s chief export earner, declined in New York. Russia’s currency depreciated 0.2 percent to 27.5665 per dollar as of 11:03 a.m. in Moscow, the biggest intraday drop since July 22. The ruble was little changed at 39.5729 per euro, leaving it steady at 32.9746 against the central bank’s target dollar-euro basket. Oil declined for a second day after a U.S. Energy Department report showed the country’s crude stockpiles climbed 2.3 million barrels last week, while a Bloomberg News survey forecast a drop of 2 million barrels. Crude for September delivery slid as much as 0.9 percent to $96.51 a barrel. “With oil prices moderating, the Russian bourses will struggle to make much headway,” Johannesburg-based Tradition Analytics wrote in an e-mailed note to clients. Russian government bonds fell, pushing the yield on the ruble Eurobond due in 2018 up one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 6.865 percent. Non-deliverable forwards, which provide a guide to expectations of currency movements and allow companies to hedge against them, show the ruble at 27.8625 per dollar in three months, compared with 27.816 yesterday. To contact the reporter on this story: Jack Jordan in Moscow at jjordan22@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net

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