The ruble depreciated for a second day against the dollar as weaker-than-expected Chinese growth spurred concern demand for oil in the world’s largest energy consumer may decline. The Russian currency lost 0.6 percent to 31.10 per dollar as of 12:04 p.m. in Moscow. A close at that level would be the biggest daily depreciation since Oct. 3. The ruble was 0.1 percent weaker at 42.62 per euro, leaving it down 0.4 percent at 36.2868 against the central bank’s target dollar-euro basket. China’s economy grew at the slowest pace in two years in the third quarter, a sign that demand for oil, Russia’s chief export earner, may weaken. Oil for November delivery lost 0.6 percent to $85.85 a barrel, while Urals crude fell for a second day to $110.87 a barrel. Russia, which relies on oil and gas for as much as 40 percent of budget revenue, needs Urals to average at $108 a barrel to balance its budget this year. Its current average for 2011 is $109.22, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The country needs a “new model” for economic growth, former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin wrote in an opinion article in Kommersant today. Russia should aim for a deficit- free budget in 2015 at an average oil price of $90 per barrel, he said. Russia’s $3.5 billion of international bonds due 2020 rose for a tenth day, the longest winning streak in more than seven months. The notes have climbed every trading day since Oct. 4, pushing the yield down 79 basis points, or 0.79 percentage point, to 4.68 percent. The yield on similar-maturity Brazilian notes lost eight basis points over the same period, to 3.83 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Urals has jumped 10 percent to $111.47 a barrel since Oct. 4. 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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