REUTERS
The Russian ruble fell to mid-March lows after the Central Bank of Russia had announced reducing its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 11% per annum, and also amid anticipated rate rise by the U.S. Federal Reserve in the near future.
Cheaper oil also exerts pressure on Russian ruble, with the Central Bank having recently to downgrade its forecast for the commodity, Russian New Service Reuters reported.
Russian ruble sank to 61.15 per dollar for the first time since March 18, while being quoted at 60.33 per dollar before the publication of the decision by the Central Bank at 13:30 Moscow time.
By 14.25 Moscow time, ruble was up 2.2% against the dollar at 61.05, as compared to yesterday’s closing level. However, major loss in the Russian ruble value was caused by continuous decline in oil prices.
Oil prices fell on Friday as concern over global oversupply of oil intensified after oil producers' cartel OPEC indicated there would be no cuts in production, according to Reuters.