MOSCOW: The rouble firmed slightly on Thursday, a day after falling to its weakest level since early May, as emerging market currencies were betting on expectations that the United States would cut interest rates amid signs a recession could be on the horizon.
At 0735 GMT, the rouble was 0.1pc stronger against the dollar at 65.96 after falling on Wednesday to its lowest level since May 3 at 66.12.
The rouble remains at the mercy of negative sentiment, Nordea Bank said in a note.
The latest financial market turbulence was boosted by an inversion in the US Treasury yield curve, the first one in 12 years. The inversion, where 2-year yields trade higher than 10-year yields, is considered an early signal of a looming recession.
A steep sell-off on global markets was also fuelled by weak data from China and Germany that have cemented concerns about the probability of a global economic slowdown.
Versus the euro, the rouble had gained 0.1pc to trade at 73.52.
The Russian currency is set to gain some support from local tax payments that kick off on Thursday and will go on until the end of the month.
Taxes usually lead export-focused companies to convert foreign currency to meet their local liabilities.
The rouble pared its losses despite an ongoing decline in prices for oil, Russia's main export. Oil prices fell on Thursday, adding to sharp overnight losses as US crude inventories unexpectedly rose.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.3pc at $59.31 a barrel, hovering above its lowest level since early 2019 of $55.88 hit earlier this month.
Russian stock indexes inched up after a steep decline the day before.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.2pc to 1,261 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.1pc higher at 2,640 points.
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