The ruble is falling as Russia eases its capital restrictions. Rosbank shares jump 40%

A view shows Russian ruble coins in this illustrative photo taken on March 25, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Illustration/File Photo

April 11 (Reuters) – The ruble weakened sharply on Monday, paring some of the previous week’s gains, after Russia eased temporary capital control measures aimed at curbing the currency’s decline.

Shares in Rosbank (ROSB.MM)And Societe Generale, a Russian subsidiary of France’s Société Générale, jumped 40 percent after Societe Generale said it would leave Russia and receive 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in income hurt from Rosbank’s sale to Interross Capital, a company linked to Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin. . Read more

By 1500 GMT, the ruble had lost more than 4% of its value in tense trading, falling to 79.45 against the dollar, and down 4.5% to 86.45 against the euro.

During the trading session on the Moscow Stock Exchange, the ruble fell to 82.0950 against the dollar, from 71 rubles hit on Friday and which was its strongest level since November 11. read more

Late Friday, the central bank said it would cancel a 12% commission for buying foreign currency through brokerages from April 11 and lift a temporary ban on selling foreign exchange to individuals from April 18.

“The central bank gave the markets an unequivocal signal that further strengthening of the ruble is not desirable,” said Vladimir Evsteviev, an analyst at Zenit Bank.

Alor Brokerage said the decision to scrap a 12% commission on forex trades means that speculators will be able to trade again, adding that market players tend to reap even small profits.

The ruble retains support from the compulsory transfer of 80% of foreign currency earnings by export-focused firms as well as from high interest rates, although the central bank unexpectedly cut the key rate from 20% to 17% last week. Read more

ITI Capital analysts said Russia receives about $1.4 billion per day in export earnings and the ruble could rise further, given Russian capital controls and shrinking imports.

Support the central bank’s cut of Russian government bonds OFZ. The Finance Ministry said at the weekend that it would not borrow from the domestic or foreign debt markets this year.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Russia would take legal action if the West tried to force it to default on its sovereign debt. Read more

Yields for the 10-year OFZs, which move inversely with their prices, fell to 10.45% on Monday. It was its lowest level since February 21, three days before Russia launched what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine, which led to unprecedented Western sanctions against Russia.

In the stock market, the dollar-denominated RTS index (.IRTS) The Russian MOEX index, which is based on the ruble, fell 5.8 percent to 1017.4 points (.IMOEX) He lost 1% to 2566.6 points with losses limited by the ruble slip.

(Reuters Report) Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter

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