Russian ruble above 30 to dollar after Euro debt deal

The official rate of the Russian ruble for Monday settlement strengthened on Friday to under 30 to the US dollar, following international markets reaction to EU decisions to tackle the debt crisis, the MICEX exchange said. The ruble went up 34.44 kopecks to the dollar to 29.90, with analysts expecting the ruble to increase against the bi-currency basket at Friday's open. At the beginning of trade, the ruble with tomorrow settlement firmed 11 kopecks to the dollar to 29.84 and 5 kopecks against the euro to 42.35. The value of the bi-currency basket, comprising $0.55 and 0.45 euros, fell 8 kopecks to 35.47 rubles. "The revival of demand for risk supported the Russian currency, but it is too early to talk about a long-term upward trend, with the remaining imbalance in the global economy possibly reducing demand for risky assets which will directly affect both the ruble and factors of its growth," said Alexei Matrosov, senior analyst at BroCo brokerage firm. U.S. shares closed 2.9-3.4 percent higher on the news of the enlargement of the European rescue fund and possible Chinese contribution to it. Asian indices went up 0.2-2.7 percent. Key European stock indices are also trading in green. Brent oil blend slipped 0.4 percent to $111.60 per barrel. In Russia, the MICEX index increased 0.76 percent to 1,537.14, index of the RTS exchange edged up 0.84 percent to 1,606.28 as of 11:47 Moscow time. "Still we do not expect investors to show high activity ahead of the weekend, taking into account a considerable rebound of stock during the past few days. Investors are likely to take profit by the end of the day," TKB Capital said in a research note.