The Russian ruble is trading higher on Friday against US dollar and Euro. In the middle of the trading session the greenback is trading at 58.83 while euro costs 68.53 Rubles. Both currencies have showed a 0.2% fall.
Demand for Ruble on domestic liquidity market is supporting the Ruble for the time being - during tax payment periods the demand strengthens traditionally. The nearest significant date is 25 July, Tuesday. After this date the demand for Ruble will cease. In addition, oil still costs much while the so-called Saudi Factor has already played out and the reserves data can't be a major driver.
A period of date of record to pay dividends has almost passed in Russia. A big amount of dividends will be credited to broker's account by the end of the month, the investors will then see greater funds available and will be able to begin purchasing US dollar as there are no any good and worthy trading ideas on the market currently. In addition, companies will be preparing themselves for high-scale payments on foreign debt accounts. The highest demand will fall on September and the only source of foreign currency is the market. Therefore, this will contribute to higher demand for US dollar.
Both those factors can possibly weaken the Ruble. And if bullish attempts to break the $50 level don't have an effect, oil will help the bears and shift the target for US dollar to 61-63 RUB/USD levels.