HSBC Sees Ruble Offering 6% Drop to Growth Effort: Russia Credit

The ruble will probably depreciate more than 6 percent against the dollar this year as Russian policy makers seek to spur the stuttering economy, the currency’s top forecaster said.

The ruble will weaken to 35.40 per dollar by year-end, compared with 33.0270 on Jan. 10, and will drop further in 2015, according to Alexander Morozov, chief economist for Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States at HSBC Holdings Plc, the most accurate forecaster for the pair over the past two years. While the nation’s Eurobonds are attractive, the outlook for local-currency debt is “not very favorable,” he said.