MOSCOW, January 30 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian ruble reached a historic low Thursday against the euro-dollar basket, the benchmark against which the central bank measures the nation’s currency.
The ruble weakened in morning trading in Moscow to 41.17 against the weighted currency basket of 55 percent dollars and 45 percent euros. The previous record of 41.15 was set in February 2009 amid the throes of the global economic crisis.
The ruble has depreciated by more than 6 percent against the euro-dollar basket this year and is now at a historic minimum against the euro and a five-year low against the dollar.
Another currency record was set Thursday as the central bank widened the ruble’s trading corridor by the largest margin in the regulator’s history.
The central bank, which controls the Russian currency through interventions on the market, expanded the target corridor for the ruble against the euro-dollar basket upward by 25 kopecks to 40.95 rubles.
Ten changes of 5 kopecks and one of 15 kopecks have been made this year by the central bank as the ruble outpaces even the fast-declining currencies of other emerging markets.
A weaker ruble means larger profits for Russian exporters and a windfall for the state budget, which is dependent on revenue from commodity exports.
Officials have denied that the currency’s devaluation is a deliberate ploy to boost revenue.
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Wednesday that he “hoped [the ruble]… will return to its [previous] range.”
