The ruble rallied above 58 against the dollar and the euro – a sharp move – on Tuesday, supported by Russia’s strong current account surplus, while stock indexes fell.
Shares in gold miner Petropavlovsk plunged 38% after the company said it plans to file for bankruptcy in a bid to protect its business as it struggles to repay loans owed to sanctioned Gazprombank.
The ruble strengthened 0.4% to 58.66 against the dollar. At the same time, it gains 1.4% to 58.42 against the euro, the strongest level since July 5.
The ruble has become the world’s best-performing currency this year, boosted by measures including restrictions on Russian households withdrawing foreign currency savings taken to shield Russia’s financial system from Western sanctions imposed after the troops from Moscow to Ukraine on February 24.
The currency also benefited from a jump in merchandise export earnings and a sharp drop in imports that helped Russia’s current account surplus more than triple in the first half of 2022 to $138.5 billion, according to the data published today.
The ruble could extend gains to the 56-58 range on Tuesday, Promsvyazbank analysts said.
In the stock market, the RTSI is down 0.30% at 1,150.56 points. At the same time, the MOEX falls by 2.27% to 2,113.50 points.
Siluanov said that gas giant Gazprom’s decision not to pay a dividend this year, for the first time since 1998, does not mean it will not do so in the coming years.
Source: Capital
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