Russian Ruble Falls to Three-week Low

Moscow, August 01 (QNA) - The Russian ruble fell Monday against the US dollar to a three-week low in Moscow markets.
The ruble fell 1.1 percent against the dollar, reaching 62.30 rubles to the dollar, and it had earlier touched 62.4875. The Russian currency lost 1.9 percent of its value against the euro to reach 63.66, while oil prices fell after the Russian currency lost support for a favorable tax collection period at the end of July.
The tax payment period that usually sees export companies transferring their revenues in foreign currencies to pay local dues ended a few days ago, and high oil prices and a strong current account surplus halted some losses in the past week, but the ruble has so far lost about 7 percent of its value against the dollar, and the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) cut the key interest rate late July by 1.5 percentage points to 8 percent. Also, CBR said it would consider the need for more cuts as inflation slows, and the economic downturn continues for longer than previously expected. (QNA)