Rouble recovers after slide past 100 vs dollar to 7-week low
By Alexander Marrow
(Reuters) -The Kremlin on Tuesday stressed that there was no need for concern after the Russian rouble weakened past the symbolic threshold of 100 to the dollar in early trade before recovering slightly, weighed down by foreign currency outflows.
The rouble's last tumble into triple digits in August led the Bank of Russia to make an emergency 350-basis-point rate hike to 12% and authorities discussed reintroducing controls to buttress the currency.
By 1150 GMT, the rouble was 0.6% stronger against the dollar at 99.17, having hit 100.2550 in early trade, a more than seven-week low.
It had gained 1% to trade at 104.91 versus the euro and firmed 0.5% against the yuan to 13.53.
«There is still no cause for concern,» Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. «Macroeconomic stability is fully ensured by the actions of the macro regulator and the government, so there are no grounds for concern here.»
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.8% at $90.01 a barrel, its weakest in almost a month, but still well above its 2023 average.
The Russian currency tends to come under pressure at the start of each month, after losing the support of a favourable month-end tax period that usually sees exporters convert FX revenues to meet local liabilities.
«Expensive oil and an increase in the key rate are improving the outlook for the rouble, but in the medium-term,» Promsvyazbank analysts said. They expected the rouble to make a short-lived move beyond 100 to the dollar in the absence of new support measures from the authorities.
'PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIER'
President Vladimir Putin's economic adviser rebuked the central bank as the rouble slid to 101.75 per dollar in August, blaming
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