Muristek
A cashier takes a 500-rouble banknote as she serves a customer in Krasnoyarsk. The Russian rouble climbed five per cent yesterday (February 3, 2015). — Reuters pic
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MOSCOW, March 22 — The Russian rouble hovered around the 104 mark to the US dollar today, lacking momentum for larger moves, while government OFZ bonds stabilised with the help of the central bank.
Russia confirmed its ability to service debt by paying a coupon on its Eurobond due in 2029, marking the second successful coupon payout in the past week.
At 0801 GMT, the rouble was little changed on the day at 104.05 against the dollar and had gained 0.3 per cent to trade at 114.27 versus the euro.
The rouble has stabilised after falling to a record low of 120 in Moscow earlier in March and even further on the interbank market to 150 as Russia took a hit from unprecedented western sanctions in response to what Russia calls “a special operation” in Ukraine that started on February 24.
Before that, the rouble traded at around 80 against the dollar.
The rouble is seen staying in the range of 100-107 to the greenback and its further direction will depend on the political backdrop and volumes of Russian exports, Alor Brokerage said in a note.
Trading on the OFZ bond market continued for the second day after it was shut in late February.
The central bank said last week it would begin buying OFZ bonds, hoping to limit volatility, after it held its key interest rate at 20 per cent after an emergency rate hike in late February. Read full story
The central bank has so far not disclosed the amount of its interventions on the OFZ market that helped stabilise prices and provided extra liquidity to the financial system.
Yields on benchmark 10-year OFZ bonds, which move inversely to their prices, stood at 13.68 per cent on Tuesday after hitting a record high of 19.74 per cent the day before.
Yesterday, OFZ trading volumes reached 13.8 billion roubles (RM559 million), with 35 per cent of turnover in the main session falling on individual investors. Before the crisis, an average daily turnover stood at 20 billion roubles, according to Alfa Capital.
The central bank has yet to say when trading in instruments like stocks can resume, as it looks for ways to clear a backlog of transactions while avoiding a market collapse. But a limited number of financial market operations have been permitted to resume over the next two weeks. — Reuters