Russia’s ruble and the Ukrainian hryvnia strengthened as OAO Gazprom resumed
shipments of natural gas to Europe after a
two-week shutdown, Bloomberg reports.
The ruble snapped a
four-day decline against the euro and the hryvnia appreciated to its highest
level versus the dollar in six days after Russia’s gas exporter said it will
ship about 430 billion cubic meters of gas today. Currencies in eastern Europe
pared declines.
“The lack of gas was
creating a negative dimension for industry,” said Roderick Ngotho, an emerging
markets currency strategist in London
at UBS AG. “The resumption of gas means industry can do the best it can given
the current downturn in external demand without the added negative of
disruptions to energy flow.”
The hryvnia strengthened as
much as 2.8 percent to 7.8500 per dollar, the highest since Jan. 12. The ruble
was up 0.5 percent at 43.4059 per euro by 1:16 p.m. in Moscow. Russia’s currency earlier weakened
against the euro as the nation’s central bank devalued the ruble for the fifth
straight day.
