By Chiara Albanese
The ruble picked up slightly against the dollar after the
European Union's fresh sanctions against Russia delivered no
surprises.
The currency had hit its weakest levels since early May earlier
Tuesday, reflecting concerns that the sanctions could weigh heavily
on Russian assets.
The ruble is now trading around 35.53 against the dollar, which
earlier hit 35.77 to mark the ruble's weakest level since May 6.
The ruble has strengthened a bit against the euro as well. Earlier
Tuesday, the single currency climbed above 48 rubles for the first
time since May 13, but is now at 47.63.
"It didn't shock anyone and the currency has already shifted a
long way over the last two weeks," said Charles Robertson, chief
economist at Renaissance Capital. The ruble has lost almost 6%
during the month so far.
Still, the new sanctions are likely to keep European currencies
under pressure, said Citigroup currencies strategist Valentin
Marinov. "The market is anxious about the growth impact of the
measures, not only in the case of Russia but European Union as a
whole," he said.
In the medium term, financial flows from international investors
selling Russian assets are likely to keep pressure on the ruble,
analysts and investor say.
In stocks, before the new sanctions were announced, Russia's
Micex index closed 0.58% higher, while the dollar-traded RTS index
lost 0.13%. Since the start of the year, the two indexes have
fallen more than 7% and 12% respectively.
Write to Chiara Albanese at chiara.albanese@wsj.com