Ruble falls further to 66.02 levels

FXStreet (Mumbai) - The Russian ruble extended losses against the US dollar during European session, continuing the downtrend, amid falling oil prices.

Currently, USD/RUB trades now at 65.65 levels, gaining 2.25% on the day, having posted fresh intraday high at 66.02 some time ago. The ruble continues to weaken against the US dollar, shrugging off the Russian Central bank’s renewed attempt to save the falling currency.
Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov announced yesterday that the country's central bank will gradually sell forex from the country's reserve fund on the market. Initially, the bank intends to sell USD 88 billion from the fund, but overall they target converting RUB 500 billion during January and February.

In yet another move to stall the slide in the ruble, the Bank of Russia has replaced its First Deputy Governor Ksenia Yudayeva. She has been criticized over the failure of the central bank's defence of the ruble.

However, the ongoing slump in the oil prices offsets these Ruble-saving measures by the Russian authorities.

USD/RUB Technical Levels

To the upside, the next resistance is located at 66.55 and above which it could extend gains to 69 levels. To the downside, immediate support might be located at 63 and below that at 61.90 levels.