The Ruble Has Reduced Its Losses Against the US Dollar

The Russian ruble recovered early losses to climb against the dollar on Thursday, while geopolitical headwinds halted a promising recovery on stock markets, which fell on the day. The ruble was 0.41% firmer against the dollar, trading at 57.342, close to the two-month high of 56.6524 set last week.

The Russian ruble had lost 0.1% against the euro, trading at 55.51, but had gained 0.3% against the yuan, trading at 8.000. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov reiterated the government’s preference for a weaker ruble as he set a new cut-off price of $62-63 per barrel for Russia’s budget regulation that diverts excess oil profits into its wealth fund on Wednesday. The RTS index in US dollars fell 1% to 1,064.1 points. The ruble-based MOEX Russian index fell 1.4% to 1,935.9 points, returning to the February lows set on Monday. In the coming days, the Russian market will likely move in a narrow band – investors will likely remain on the sidelines, awaiting more information.

Asian currencies

On Thursday, most developing Asian currencies fell against a higher US dollar, with Thailand’s baht falling more than 1% following a quarter-point rate hike that investors perceived as mild to bring inflation down from a 14-year high.

Thailand’s central bank chairman stated that the bank was ready to modify the pace of tightening monetary policy if necessary and that an off-cycle meeting would be held.

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points (bps) to manage inflation, which has risen far beyond the Bank of Thailand’s target range of 1% to 3%.

The dollar index =USD, which measures the value of the US currency against a basket of six currencies, increased 0.5% to 113.591. On Wednesday, it reached a 20-year high of 114.78.

The Malaysian ringgit MYR= and the Philippine peso PHP= both lost 0.32% and 0.4%, while the Singapore dollar SGD= fell 0.5%. The Indian currency INR=IN fell 0.12%.