Dollar costs 74 rubles already

Today in the course of trading on the MICEX the dollar rose 69 kopecks to 74 rubles, repeating the maximum of  December 16th 2014. The euro rose 70 kopecks and traded at 79.42. This fall in the Russian national currency is due to another drop in oil prices.

According to TASS, February futures for a barrel of Brent crude on the London Stock Exchange fell 2.3% to $35.6, this means, to the minimum of July 2004. This is also due to a decision by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state oil company, to provide even greater discounts on their oil – of 60 cents for Europe and 20 cents for the Mediterranean.