Russian ruble and indices collapse following slump in oil prices

Thursday, April 14, 2016 - 16:00 (EEST) Section: Latest news

Russia`s national currency has weakened against the background of falling oil prices.
According to the Moscow Exchange data, the dollar rose by 21 kopiykas to 66.56 rubles on Thursday, while euro was up by 66 kopiykas to 74.82 rubles.
The Russian stock market also saw a decline at the opening of trade.
The MICEX index slid by 0.03% to 1,932.21 points.
The RTS index fell by 0.92% to 913.99 points.
As reported earlier, oil fell on Thursday as the International Energy Agency trimmed its forecast for demand growth and on signs that a producers` meeting this weekend will not yield a concrete plan to reduce oversupply.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 54 cents from their last close at $43.64 a barrel by 0827 GMT. U.S. crude CLc1 was down 47 cents at $41.29 a barrel.
The world`s biggest oil producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, are scheduled to meet in Qatar on Sunday to finalize a deal reached in February to freeze oil output at January levels, aiming to bolster oil prices.
However, Russian oil minister Alexander Novak told a closed-door briefing of energy analysts in Moscow on Wednesday that the deal would be loosely framed with few detailed commitments, according to Reuters.