On Monday, April 24, the US dollar weakened to the lowest mark since July 2015 on the Moscow Exchange.
The US currency retreated to Rub 55.76. Meanwhile, by 13:17 Moscow time the dollar traded at Rub 55.78, down 68 kopecks compared to the previous close.
By this time the euro grew 7 kopecks to Rub 60.64.
"The dollar is going down amid rising appetite for risky assets. Emmanuel Macron's victory in the first round of presidential election in France has substantially depressed concerns about the euro and the euro-area region, as a whole. It is known that Macron's position EU integrity and a focus on globalization. The ruble has so far remained attractive. The Russian currency continues to garner support from the effect of tax payments and a rebound in oil prices. In addition, optimism relative to risky assets has increased somewhat amid the outcome of the first round of presidential election in France. At the same time, the second half of the week could turn out to be less favorable for the Russian currency. A gradual decrease in electoral optimism, prevailing geopolitical risks, upcoming long weekends, fragile oil prices and the Bank of Russia's rate decision – all these factors will hang over the ruble that may eventually log marginal losses (to Rub 57 per dollar). The short-term baselines for the USD/RUB pair are Rub 55.60 to Rub 56.40," said analysts at Nordea Bank.
Promsvyazbank analysts believe that the Rub 55.80-57.50 band, in which the USD/RUB pair has traded since late March, has so far been actual. "However, in our opinion, amid strong risk demand in the global markets and the crescendo of the fiscal period in Russia the USD/RUB pair could again hit multi-month lows. Breaching local lows at Rub 55.80 per dollar could pave the way towards the next target of Rub 55 per dollar," they noted. "In the medium term, we still think that the ruble looks overbought. In the middle of the second quarter of the year the USD/RUB pair may most likely hit lows of the year, and the ruble will later start weakening at a gradual pace," experts pointed out.
