03 February 2015, 12:47 / Finance

The ruble strengthened sharply against the dollar and euro

Analysts at Sberbank CIB believe that the ruble has every chance of continuing to grow Anastasia Agamalova Ilya Usov

Evgeny Razumny / Vedomosti

The Russian currency strengthened sharply against the dollar and euro during trading on the Moscow Exchange. By 14.00 Moscow time, the dollar and euro exchange rates for “tomorrow” settlements fell by almost 2 rubles: the dollar - to 66.42 rubles, the euro - to 75.40 rubles.

By 14.30 Moscow time, the MICEX index added 1.74% to 1653.99 points, the RTS soared by 5.2% to 784.69 points.

Sberbank CIB analysts believe that the ruble has every chance of continuing to grow. “Significant demand from international investors, which set the tone for trading yesterday, will most likely continue. We believe that fundamental factors favoring the strengthening of the ruble will dominate today,” experts write in the bank’s review (quotes from TASS).

Chief Economist for Russia and the CIS at ING Bank Dmitry Polevoy agrees with this point of view. “In the absence of additional geopolitical shocks, the ruble has a better chance of further strengthening from current levels,” he noted.

Interfax experts associate the retreat of the dollar and euro with a noticeable increase in world oil prices. Oil prices rose for the fourth straight session on Tuesday, the longest period of continuous growth since August last year.

At 14.10 Moscow time, March Brent futures on the London ICE exchange reached $57 per barrel, but by 14.20 they dropped to $56.8 per barrel.