Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register April 11 (Reuters) – The Russian ruble fell sharply in volatile trading on Monday, reversing some of last week’s gains after the central bank decided to relax temporary capital controls to curb the currency. Late Friday, the central bank announced that it would abolish the 12% commission for buying foreign currency through brokerage agencies from April 11 and lift the temporary ban on selling foreign currency cash to individuals from April 18. read more The ruble fell to 82.09 against the dollar at the opening of the market in Moscow, from 71 rubles on Friday, the strongest since November 11. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register At 0727 GMT the ruble was almost 5% weaker on the day at 79.90 against the dollar and 4.3% against the euro at 86.35 points. The decision to abolish the 12% foreign exchange commission means speculators will be able to trade again, Alor Brokerage said, adding that market players tend to lock in even small profits. The ruble retains support from the mandatory conversion of 80% of foreign exchange earnings by export-focused companies as well as high interest rates, although the central bank unexpectedly cut its key interest rate from 20% to 17% last week. read more Analysts at ITI Capital said Russia was receiving about $ 1.4 billion a day in export earnings and that the ruble could stabilize further, given Russian capital controls and shrinking imports. The central bank cut supported Russian government bonds OFZ. The finance ministry said at the weekend that it would not lend to domestic or foreign debt markets this year. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov also said Russia would take legal action if the West tried to force it to default on its public debt. read more Yields on 10-year OFZs, which are moving in reverse with their prices, fell to 10.62% on Monday. This was the lowest level since February 22, two days before Russia launched what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine, prompting unprecedented Western sanctions against Russia. In the stock market, the RTS index in dollars (.IRTS) fell 4.5% to 1,031.4 points, but the Russian ruble index MOEX (.IMOEX) gained 0.8% to 2,614.0 points with support of the ruble slip. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Reuters Edited by David Goodman Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
