“Russian Ruble Gains Slightly Amid New Western Sanctions”

According to Reuters, the Russian ruble strengthened on Friday, surpassing the 80 level against the US dollar due to higher oil prices. However, the currency is still struggling due to reduced foreign currency supply and Western sanctions. At 11:03 a.m. Saudi time, the ruble was 0.4% stronger against the dollar at 79.93 and had gained 0.4% against the euro to trade at 86.22. The ruble had also firmed 0.3% against the yuan to 11.37. The ruble has weakened from about 76 to the dollar in the last week due to limited activity by exporters in terms of foreign currency sales. Analysts predict that the ruble will not fall much further due to approaching month-end tax payments, which usually lead exporters to convert foreign currency revenues to meet local liabilities.