High world oil prices and a widening U.S. foreign trade deficit are the main factors contributing to the dollar's slide on international forex markets and on the Russian trading floor.
By 2:00 p.m. Moscow time (10:00 a.m. GMT), the greenback dropped by 0.0363 rubles to the dollar on Monday's opening to 25.7930 rubles to the dollar in "today" settlements on the Moscow Inter-Bank Currency Exchange (MICEX) while the single European currency climbed by 0.0264 rubles to 34.9532 rubles to the euro.
The U.S. currency is expected to fluctuate within 25.70-25.90 rubles to the dollar this week, said Pyotr Naimyshev, an analyst with MDM-Bank.
The dollar's slide is attributable to problems in the U.S. economy, particularly reduced consumption, a pre-crisis situation on the property market and increased inflationary expectations, said Alexander Akhmedov, head of conversion transactions at the Bank of Moscow.
Growing oil prices, the U.S. inflation data to be released this week and the expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut its key benchmark interest rate are the factors that could push the dollar further down, Akhmedov said.
The euro will continue its rally against the dollar on international markets in the short-term and will benefit the ruble's rate, the expert said.
