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Russia ruble hits historic low after OPEC decision

28 November 2014 03:17 (UTC +04:00)

On Thursday, the Russian currency lost 3.6 percent against both the dollar and euro about two hours after the decision by the OPEC, which was made after a day-long meeting in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on the same day.

Approximately half of Russia’s federal budget revenues are generated by oil and natural gas exports.

OPEC “decided to maintain the production level of 30 million barrels per day,” which it has kept for three years, during its latest meeting, the oil exporter group said in a communiqué after the 166th ministerial meeting of the 12-nation organization.

The announcement sent global oil prices dropping to fresh four-year lows. Crude prices have fallen by 35 percent since June.

OPEC was under pressure from some of its members, notably Venezuela and Ecuador, to cut output to reduce supplies and push prices back up. However, the call was rejected by some Persian Gulf members.

OPEC, which groups Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Kuwait, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela, accounts for a third of the world’s oil sales.

The 12-nation organization is set to hold its next production meeting in June 2015.