Russian Ruble Falls After Tensions Flare Over Ukraine
The Russian ruble fell sharply on opening on Monday, following a weekend of violence in eastern Ukraine and threats of further Western sanctions against Russia.
At 10:55 the ruble was down 2.4 percent against the dollar at 65.82 and 2.4 percent weaker against the euro at 73.85.
President Vladimir Putin blamed “criminal orders” by Ukrainian leaders on Friday for a surge in fighting in east Ukraine, and Russian-backed separatists struck a bellicose tone in ruling out seeking more peace talks.
Over the weekend, after the pro-Russian rebels pressed on with their offensive, U.S. President Barack Obama said Washington was considering all options short of military action to isolate Russia. The European Union has called an emergency meeting of its 28 member states’ foreign ministers.
“It was the increase in geopolitical tensions on Friday that reversed the ruble’s [stable] trend, forcing many players to sell the currency in a hurry,” Dmitry Polevoy, chief economist at ING Bank in Moscow, wrote in a note.
“The latest [Ukraine] developments have renewed talks about increasing sanctions against Russia, which will put pressure on the ruble.”
The ruble was relatively stable week last week, trading between 63 rubles per dollar and 64 rubles.
The outcome of a parliamentary election in Greece, which the anti-austerity Syriza party is projected to win, has also had an impact on markets because of the prospect of Greece seeking to leave the euro zone.
Russian stocks were also down, with the ruble-traded MICEX 2.2 percent lower at 1,637 points and the dollar-based RTS 4.6 percent lower at 783 points.
Source: themoscowtimes – Russian Ruble Falls After Tensions Flare Over Ukraine
