USD/RUB leaps to 3-day highs beyond 74.00

USD/RUB reverses recent downside and retakes 74.00 and above.
Lower crude oil prices put the ruble under pressure.
The CBR left the key rate unchanged at 4.25% at its meeting.

Pablo Piovano FXStreet

The Russian currency trims part of its recent gains and poshes USD/RUB to the area of 3-day highs beyond the 74.00 yardstick on Friday.

USD/RUB up on dollar, Brent

USD/RUB is posting strong gains and reverses seven consecutive sessions with losses at the end of the week on the back of the renewed demand for the greenback and the mild correction lower in crude oil prices.

Indeed, prices of the Brent crude navigate the third consecutive day with losses following Wednesday’s new 2021 highs around $61.70 (area last visited more than a year ago.

Additionally, the rebound in the US dollar also weighs on the risk complex and put RUB under further downside pressure.

Earlier in the session, the Russian central bank (CBR) left the key interest rate unchanged at 4.25% at its event. Against the backdrop of the recent pick-up in inflation figures, further rate cuts by the CBR looks increasingly unlikely in the next months.

USD/RUB levels to watch

At the moment the pair is gaining 0.81% at 74.28 and faces the next up barrier at 75.76 (100-day SMA) followed by 76.50 (2021 high Jan.28) and then 79.4397 (monthly high Sep.29 2020). On the flip side, a breach of 73.52 (monthly low Feb.11) would aim for 73.06 (2021 low Jan.4) and then 72.65 (monthly low Dec.17 2020).

Author

Pablo Piovano

FXStreet

Born and bred in Argentina, Pablo has been carrying on with his passion for FX markets and trading since his first college years.

EUR/USD flirts with daily highs, retargets 1.1900

EUR/USD regains upside traction, returning to the 1.1880 zone and refocusing its attention to the key 1.1900 barrier. The pair’s slight gains comes against the backdrop of a humble decline in the US Dollar as investors continue to assess the latest US CPI readings and the potential Fed’s rate path.

GBP/USD remains well bid around 1.3650

GBP/USD maintains its upside momentum in place, hovering around daily highs near 1.3650 and setting aside part of the recent three-day drop. Cable’s improved sentiment comes on the back of the Greenback’s irresolute price action, while recent hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill also collaborate with the uptick.

Gold clings to gains just above $5,000/oz

Gold is reclaiming part of the ground lost on Wednesday’s marked decline, as bargain-hunters keep piling up and lifting prices past the key $5,000 per troy ounce. The precious metal’s move higher is also underpinned by the slight pullback in the US Dollar and declining US Treasury yields across the curve.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP in choppy price action, weighed down by falling institutional interest

Bitcoin's upside remains largely constrained amid weak technicals and declining institutional interest. Ethereum trades sideways above $1,900 support with the upside capped below $2,000 amid ETF outflows.

Week ahead – Data blitz, Fed Minutes and RBNZ decision in the spotlight

US GDP and PCE inflation are main highlights, plus the Fed minutes. UK and Japan have busy calendars too with focus on CPI. Flash PMIs for February will also be doing the rounds. RBNZ meets, is unlikely to follow RBA’s hawkish path.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP potential bottom could be in sight

Ripple edges up above the intraday low of $1.35 at the time of writing on Friday amid mixed price actions across the crypto market. The remittance token failed to hold support at $1.40 the previous day, reflecting risk-off sentiment amid a decline in retail and institutional sentiment.