The Russian stock market has closed after its worst week in at least a decade, as the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) index lost almost 15 percent amid the collapse of global oil and stock markets
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2020) The Russian stock market has closed after its worst week in at least a decade, as the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) index lost almost 15 percent amid the collapse of global oil and stock markets.
Even despite a modest 1.31-percent gain to 2,316.38 points on Friday, the MOEX Russia index has seen a 14.9-percent slump over the whole week. The previous deepest weekly falls in September 2011 and in March 2014 were just 12.2 and 11.8 percent, respectively.
The US dollar-denominated RTS index fell this week even deeper, by 20 percent, due to the weakening of the Russian ruble against the Dollar. On Friday alone, it was up 2.62 percent to 991.69 points.
Global precious metal markets continue their downward spiral on Friday. As of 16.19 GMT, the price of April gold futures on the New York-based COMEX was down 3.56 percent to $1,533.7 per ounce, while May silver futures were trading down 8.06 percent at 14.18 per ounce. So far this week, gold is down about 10 percent, while silver became 16 percent cheaper.
Another precious metal, palladium, which is primarily used in cars' catalytic converters to neutralize exhaust gases, sharply fell after rebounding in early trade. As of 16.23 GMT, palladium's spot price was down 7.18 percent to $1,708.44 per ounce, while the price of June palladium futures fell 17.48 percent to $1,580.2 per ounce. Over the week, the spot price fell by a quarter, while the futures lost 37 percent.
