Russia's Ruble Ends 5-day Rally, Drops 4 Percent

The Russian currency on Friday ended its five-day rally and declined 4 percent as the markets remain jittery over the outlook of the Russian economy.
The ruble has been the worst performing currency this year along with the Ukrainian hryvnia, having lost nearly half of its value against the dollar.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov announced on Thursday that the ruble seems to have finally found its fair value. But that did not stop the ruble from ending its five-day rally when it had gained nearly 15 percent.
The ruble declined by 4 percent in afternoon trading to 54 rubles against the dollar. Russian monetary officials have made stabilizing the ruble their priority, introducing a number of drastic measures to support it such as raising the key interest rate to a whopping 17 percent.
Predicting problems for the economy for years ahead, Siluanov on Friday lamented the fact that instead of channeling money to infrastructure projects and education, President Vladimir Putin has chosen to boost the defense budget.