Decline In Russian Markets Continues

Decline In Russian Markets Continues

The decline in the Russian ruble and stock market continues on the last day of the week due to the Coronavirus outbreak and continued downward momentum in oil prices. The Russian ruble fell 0.86 percent against the dollar and fell 0.4 percent against the euro to 77 percent for the first time since January 2019, as the Coronavirus outbreak continued to spread worldwide and oil prices rose. The Moscow Stock Exchange (MICEX) fell 4.3 percent to 2695 points in the first half of the day, while the RTS index fell 6.6 percent to 1250 points. Analysts said investors ' risk appetite had waned amid growing concerns about the Coronavirus outbreak. On the other hand, the downward momentum in oil prices is also impacting Russian markets, especially as Russia is not warm to the 1.5 million-barrel additional cuts proposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).