During trading on the Moscow Exchange on Tuesday, July 5, the ruble fell by more than 11% against the US dollar. This is evidenced by trading data .
In relation to the US dollar, the ruble at its peak lost about 12%, or 6.5 rubles, falling from 55.78 to 62.3 rubles per dollar. At the close of currency trading on Tuesday, the dollar stopped at 61.15 rubles. The exchange rate of the national currency traded slightly stronger against the euro and the yuan. As a result of the trading session, the ruble against the euro fell by 10.13% to 63.6 rubles, the yuan rose by 8.36% to 9.4 rubles per unit of Chinese currency per day.
The Moscow Exchange Index during trading was in the green zone and rose by 1%, or 21.98 points, to 2226.64 points. The growth leaders were the shares of the recently collapsed Gazprom, Surgutneftegaz and Yandex.
The strengthening of the foreign currency comes amid speculation that the Russian government will return the fiscal rule, which is tantamount to the resumption of foreign exchange interventions in the market. Last week, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Economic Development held a tough debate on this matter, but no final decision was made. Experts ambiguously assessed the one-day surge in rates.
Some analysts attribute the fall of the ruble to a reduction in foreign exchange earnings amid falling gas exports to Europe, coupled with foreign exchange relaxations for exporters. They also believe that the current strengthening of the currency is only temporary and in the near future we should expect a new round of ruble strengthening. Other experts believe that the market is beginning to reverse, and the ruble will continue to fall to adequate levels.
An excessively strong ruble is a problem for the Russian budget, which is short of billions of rubles. The authorities have repeatedly called the situation anomalous and have been looking for solutions, however, since the introduction of strict currency restrictions by the Central Bank, the exchange rate has rapidly strengthened from about 120 to 50 rubles per US dollar.
