Top Forecaster Says OPEC+ Will Keep Ruble's Winning Run on Track - Bloomberg

Top Forecaster Says OPEC+ Will Keep Ruble's Winning Run on Track - Bloomberg:

The most-accurate ruble forecaster is more interested in Saudi Arabian oil officials than Washington lawmakers when it comes to predicting whether the Russian currency will keep its place as the best-performer globally.

While the threat of tougher U.S. sanctions on Russia has abated, Per Hammarlund, chief emerging markets strategist at Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, is confident oil output cuts under the OPEC+ deal will hold, keeping crude prices -- and the ruble -- buoyant, despite a recent lurch lower.

“I expect this fall to be temporary, primarily because Saudi Arabia and Russia have pledged to not oversupply the market with oil,” said Hammarlund, who was the top ruble forecaster in the first quarter, according to a ranking compiled by Bloomberg. “I think they will manage production in such a way that oil prices will start to recover in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter.”