The US dollar and the euro are steadily rising on the Moscow Exchange on Monday morning, the ruble is actively depreciating against the dual-currency basket in anticipation of new measures by the Russian authorities to normalize the exchange rate.
The first transactions in the US dollar were in the range of 54.9-56.51 rubles/$1, according to the results of the first minute of trading, the rate was 55.82 rubles/$1 (+1.32 rubles to the level of the previous close). At the same time, the euro rose in price to 58.3375 rubles/EUR1 (+1.8 rubles by Friday’s close). The dual-currency basket ($0.55 and EUR0.45) grew by 1.53 rubles. to the closing level on July 1, to 56.95 rubles.
The dollar at the same time turned out to be 2.05 rubles. above the level of the current official exchange rate, the euro – by 1.98 rubles. above the official rate.
The problem of excessive strengthening of the ruble
According to Interfax-CEA experts, the ruble is depreciating significantly against the dollar and the euro at the start of trading in anticipation of the actions of the Russian authorities to normalize its exchange rate. The Russian government plans to discuss this topic this week, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said earlier. According to him, the government intends to discuss the issue of exchange rate formation and influence on it, in particular, through interventions within the framework of the updated mechanism of the budget rule.
The Russian authorities are discussing the problem of excessive strengthening of the ruble and ways to solve it on a daily basis , Maxim Reshetnikov, head of the Ministry of Economic Development, told reporters on Friday. „We do it every day,” the minister replied to the question of when decisions could be made on mechanisms to keep the ruble from overstretching.
Oil prices
Oil quotes are growing weakly on Monday morning after rising on the basis of the previous week.
The cost of September futures for Brent crude on the London ICE Futures exchange by 10:05 Moscow time on Monday is $111.78 per barrel, which is 0.13% higher than the closing price of the previous session. The price of futures for WTI oil for August on the electronic trading of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is $ 108.55 per barrel by this time, which is 0.11% higher than the final value of the previous session.
Brent rose 2.3% over the past week, WTI rose 0.8%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Oil prices hit multi-year highs this year, with Brent over $140 a barrel in March, but prices have slipped to current levels in recent weeks amid market worries about future growth prospects and even recession risks that could undermine demand for petroleum products .
The average price of Urals oil in January-June 2022 was $84.09 per barrel, the Russian Finance Ministry said last week. For the first half of 2021, it amounted to $63.35 per barrel. Thus, the price increased by 32.7%.
Last month, the price was $87.25 per barrel, which is 1.2 times higher than in June 2021 ($71.4 per barrel).
