Title: Russian rouble eases towards 62 vs dollar, stocks fall

Jun 02, 2022 04:16AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

The Russian ruble weakened to 62 against the dollar on Thursday, stabilizing in a relatively narrow range after sharp and uncontrolled moves last week due to supply and demand imbalances on the Moscow exchange.

At 0746 GMT, the ruble was 0.8% weaker against the dollar at 61.76 and down 1% against the euro at 65.00.

The Russian currency also benefited from the new terms for gas payments to EU consumers, which require foreign currencies to be exchanged for rubles, and a drop in imports, helping it withstand economic difficulties at home and the risk of sovereign debt default.

A panel of investors determined Wednesday that Russia's failure to pay $1.9 million in interest on dollar bonds will trigger a drawdown that could be worth billions of dollars.

In the domestic bond market, the yield on the 10-year OFZ government bond fell to 9.2%, the lowest level since early 2022, after data showed annual inflation slowed again after rising to its highest level since 2002.

Bond yields move inversely proportional to their price.

Russia's central bank cut its key interest rate to 11% last week and said it sees room for further cuts this year as inflation falls from a more than 20-year high and the economy heads toward contraction.

Russian stock indexes fell. The dollar RTS index fell 1.7% to 1,200.9 points, while the ruble MOEX Russian index was 0.9% lower at 2,353.3 points.