BLBG:Ruble Jumps to Weekly High as Oil Rises on U.S. Inventory Report
The ruble strengthened to the highest level in a week, gaining for a second day, after the prices for oil, Russia’s biggest export, rose on a report showing U.S. fuel stockpiles declined more than expected.
The Russian currency appreciated 0.2 percent to 29.5658 per dollar by 11:22 a.m. in Moscow, after rising 0.4 percent yesterday, poised for its strongest close since April 5. The yield on Russia’s 114 billion rubles ($3.8 billion) of local OFZ bonds due 2021 slipped 2 basis points to 7.96 percent, leaving bonds little changed.
Crude futures rose as much as 44 cents to $103.14 a barrel in electronic trading in New York after a 1.7 percent jump yesterday as U.S. gasoline inventories retreated 4.3 million barrels, more than the 1.38 million-barrel drop projected by a Bloomberg News survey.
The ruble traded little changed at 38.8385 per euro and strengthened 0.1 percent to 33.7328 against the central bank’s target dollar-euro basket. Investors pared bets on the currency depreciating, with non-deliverable forwards projecting the ruble at 29.9377 per dollar in three months, compared with expectations of 30.0588 per dollar yesterday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Denis Maternovsky in Moscow at dmaternovsky@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net
