MOSCOW: The rouble soared in its final session of a volatile year on Friday, but remained on course for hefty losses in December, after fears over the impact of a Western oil price cap on Russia’s export revenues dominated this month’s trading.
The rouble has lost around 11% to the dollar since a price cap on Russian oil exports came into force on Dec. 5, although analysts said the technical impact will be felt more strongly in January-February.
By 1344 GMT, the rouble was 4% stronger against the dollar at 69.30, recovering ground from the eight-month low of 72.9175 hit in the previous session.
After slumping to a record low 120 per dollar in March soon after Russia shook markets by sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, the rouble then spent most of the year as the world’s best-performing major currency, boosted by capital controls and collapsing imports, only losing the top spot this month.
The rouble had gained 3.4% to trade at 73.42 versus the euro .
It firmed 2.9% against the yuan to 9.89 after Russia said it had doubled the yuan’s maximum possible share in its National Wealth Fund (NWF) to 60% as it restructures its rainy-day fund to reduce dependency on currencies from so-called “unfriendly” nations.
Russia is not chasing a specific rate, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday, but wants stability.
“It is important for us to have predictability and stability of exchange rate fluctuations,” Siluanov said in an interview broadcast on state TV channel Rossiya-24.
“(Recent volatility) was happening under extreme sanctions pressure, but now, thank God, the rate has stabilised,” he said.
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