The Russian rouble weakened beyond 61 versus the U.S. dollar in trading on Monday, pushed lower as rising COVID cases in China weighed on markets.
At 1343 GMT, the rouble had lost 0.8% against the dollar at 61.02 and was down even more against the euro, trading off 1.6% at 63.91 versus the euro.
In recent sessions the currency has been supported by a month-end tax period that sees Russian exporters convert their foreign currency earnings into roubles to pay local tax liabilities. But any demand for the currency was being outweighed by a negative global outlook in trading on Monday.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was down by 2.4% at $81.25 a barrel. Oil prices have fallen by more than 17% in November with fears of an economic slowdown in Europe and the United States being compounded by the rising COVID cases in China.
Against the Chinese yuan, the Russian currency was down 0.1% at 8.43.
Russian stock indexes were also sharply lower as investors fled from risky assets.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 1.9% to 1,118.9 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 1.2% lower at 2,169.5 points.
Analysts said poor sentiment was likely to continue weighing on the Russian market through the week.
“The deterioration of investor sentiment towards risky assets … and a significant drop in oil prices will put pressure on the Russian market, which will lead to further declines,” Banki.ru chief analyst Bogdan Zvarich wrote in a research note.
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