MOSCOW, May 23 (RIA Novosti) – The ruble strengthened Friday following a statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Moscow will respect the choice of the Ukrainian people in Sunday’s upcoming presidential election.
The dollar one-day forward rate fell 11 kopecks, to 34.21 rubles, while the euro fell 23 kopecks, to 46.63 rubles by 11:57 GMT, according to Moscow stock exchange data.
At the same time, the dollar-euro basket used by the central bank to track the ruble’s value fell 16 kopecks compared to the previous closing to 39.80 rubles.
After Putin's statement about the election in Ukraine, the ruble rate rose about 5 kopecks versus the dollar-euro basket.
