BLBG:Ruble Weakens Against Dollar, Bond Yields Rise On Oil Decline
The ruble depreciated against the dollar and yields on Russia’s local debt rose as oil, the country’s main export, declined.
The Russian currency lost 0.4 percent to 32.29 per dollar as of 10:14 a.m. in Moscow after an 0.8 percent advance in July. The country’s 54 billion rubles ($1.7 billion) of local debt due February 2027 fell, increasing the yield by 11 basis points, or 0.11 percentage point, to 8.44 percent.
Urals crude oil dropped 1.8 percent to $104.21 per barrel yesterday, the biggest decline in a week. The U.S. Federal Reserve will forgo announcing a third round of asset purchases after a two-day meeting ends today, according to 88 percent of economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
The ruble dropped 0.4 percent to 39.7625 per euro and 35.6335 against the central bank’s target dollar-euro basket. Investors increased bets on the currency weakening, with non- deliverable forwards showing the ruble at 32.7974 per dollar in three months, compared with expectations of 32.715 per dollar yesterday.
150 billion rubles of Russian government bonds are due to mature today, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Finance Ministry is also offering a total 50 billion rubles of five- and 10-year notes in its weekly domestic debt auction.
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
