The rouble weakened against the US dollar on Monday, hit by falling oil prices as global shutdowns to combat the coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh on demand and storage facilities headed towards full capacity amid a supply glut.
The rouble began the year as the best-performing currency against the dollar before turning into one of its weakest counterparts as prices for oil, a major Russian export, crashed in March.
The rouble has pared some losses since then as oil prices rebounded slightly. But its recovery from four-year lows hit last month was hampered by the coronavirus outbreak that suffocated business activity in Russia amid a partial lockdown.
At 1550 GMT, the rouble was 0.7% weaker against the dollar at 74.50 and had lost 0.8% to trade at 81.02 versus the euro. The rouble took a hit as oil prices tumbled on Monday, with the US crude futures contract plunging more than 40% to its lowest level since 1986, amid global economic concerns.
Yields on 10-year OFZ bonds, which move inversely to their prices, remained at early-March levels of around 6.20% on hopes of a rate cut, having fallen sharply from 6.79% seen early on Friday.
Russian stock indexes finished the day in negative territory. The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 1% to 1,068.32 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was shed 0.4% to 2,525.97.
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