The Russian ruble fell to its lowest level since April 2022

On Friday, the Russian ruble fell to its lowest level against the dollar and the euro since April 2022, crossing the 90 ruble barrier against the euro amid a foreign currency crisis and the sale of Western companies in Russia.

The ruble fell 1.1% against the dollar to 82.28 by 0930 Moscow time, and fell 1% to 90.06 against the euro.

Dealers said the ruble was under pressure due to a host of problems, including the sale of Western assets to local investors, which increased demand for dollars, while the drop in oil prices in March led to a decline in export earnings.

The ruble recorded the third worst performance of a currency around the world since the beginning of the year until now, after the Egyptian pound and the Argentine peso, according to Reuters calculations, which also showed that the ruble witnessed the worst weekly performance so far against the dollar since July 2022.

However, traders said that the recent rise in oil prices, after falling in March, is likely to support the Russian currency in the coming weeks. Russia is the second largest oil exporter in the world after Saudi Arabia.

Oil prices, the lifeblood of the Russian economy, fell in late March. However, after the banking unrest in the West and the OPEC + decision to cut production, prices have rebounded in the past days.

Brent crude traded at $70 a barrel in late March, but its price jumped to $85 a barrel on Thursday.