The Russian ruble slightly weakened against the dollar and the euro on Friday after reports about the first two people infected with coronavirus in Russia, The Moscow Times reported.
At 15:32 Moscow time, the dollar was at 63.5 rubles, and the euro was trading for 70.14 rubles. Then the dollar rose by 18 kopecks to 63.68 rubles at 16:00 Moscow time. The euro rose to 70.39 rubles (+25 kopecks).
The price of Brent crude oil futures contracts with April delivery on London’s ICE increased by 0.1% to $57.4 per barrel.
The ruble-denominated MOEX Russia Index declined by 0.4% to 3,096.01 points, the dollar-denominated RTS index lost 0.8% and reached 1,532.15 points.
Two people infected with novel coronavirus have been identified in Russia on Friday, both Chinese citizens.
“The Rospobrebnadzor [Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being] services have identified two persons infected with coronavirus in Russia – in the Trans-Baikal Region and the Tyumen Region. They are under strict surveillance. They have been isolated, and necessary assistance has been provided to them. Both are Chinese citizens,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said.
On December 31, Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of an unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, a large trade and industrial metropolis in central China populated by 11 million people.
Cases of the new coronavirus were also confirmed in 21 other countries, including Russia. On Thursday, the WHO declared the new coronavirus outbreak an international public health emergency.
To date, the total number of people infected with the new coronavirus in China has exceeded 9,800, and more than 200 people have died.
