USD/RUB sharply lower, testing 59.30

The sell-off in the US Dollar remains unabated at the beginning of the week, now relegating USD/RUB to the lower bound of the range near the 59.30 region.

USD/RUB weaker on USD-selling

Spot has gathered extra downside traction on Monday, as the greenback is extending its descent following the protectionist tone from Donald Trump at his inaugural speech on Friday.

Somewhat limiting the pair’s downside, crude oil prices have started the week on the defensive, with the barrel of Brent crude down smalls just above the $55.00 mark.

RUB will stay under pressure in the meantime, following the usual crude oil dynamics and the US-Russia developments under Trump’s presidency.

On the positioning front, RUB speculative net longs have climbed to 5-week peaks during the week ended on January 17, as per the latest CFTC report.

Data wise, Russian Producer Prices, Unemployment Rate and Retail Sales are due on Wednesday ahead of the CBR’s FX Reserves due on Thursday.

USD/RUB levels to watch

At the moment the pair is losing 0.59% at 59.39 facing the next support at 59.11 (low Jan.6) followed by 58.57 (low Jul.29 2015) and then 56.20 (low Jul.10 2015). On the flip side, a surpass of 60.03 (20-day sma) would expose 60.24 (high Jan.19) and finally 60.66 (high Jan.11).