n n n ‘. concat(e. i18n. t(“search. voice. recognition_retry”),’n
(Updated at 11:38 GMT)
MOSCOW, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Russia’s rouble rose to its opposite point against the dollar in more than seven weeks on Friday, boosted by the state’s new currency intervention plan and higher oil costs after measures taken by U. S. and British planes and ships in Yemen. .
Russia’s finance ministry will switch to foreign currency sales from purchases in the coming weeks, it said on Thursday, after December oil and gas revenue was lower than expected. The move is widely expected to buttress the currency.
By 11:38 GMT, the rouble was 0. 5% stronger against the dollar at 88. 16, before breaching the 88 threshold for the first time since Nov. 23.
It strengthened 0. 5 to 96. 64 against the euro and rose 0. 8 against the yuan to 12. 22.
Taking into account all the state intervention in foreign currency, Russia is expected to sell 16. 7 billion rubles ($189. 5 million) on the same day in January.
The plan is expected to change the ruble in the short term, said Dmitry Polevoy, chief investment officer at Astra Asset Management. He expects the currency to range from 85 to 100 to the dollar over the course of 2024.
The central bank’s excessively loose financial policy in early 2023 is partly to blame for the ruble’s depreciation and volatility last year, but the budget is the main culprit, he added.
Increased spending at the end of the year brought Russia’s budget deficit to 1. 9% of GDP in 2023, the data showed
Shown
Thursday.
“What we mean is that there will be no surprises in terms of fiscal spending comparable to last year,” Polevoy said.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was up 4.2% at $80.67 a barrel.
Oil rose after the United States and Britain said they had introduced measures in Yemen in retaliation for attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi forces on Red Sea ships, an extension of the regional clash sparked by Israel’s war in Gaza.
Russian stock indices are rising.
The dollar-denominated RTS index rose 0. 9% to 1,141. 6 points, its highest level since last November. Russia’s rouble-based MOEX index rose 0. 4% to 3,194. 4 points ($1 = 88. 1200 rubles) (Reporting by Alexander Marrow, editing by David Goodman and Andrew Cielos)