The ruble is surging to its highest level since July 2015

Markets Insider

The Russian ruble just surged to its highest level since July 2015.

The petro-currency is up by 1.4% at 59.5251 per dollar as of 7:40 a.m. ET.

This is the first time the ruble has climbed above 6o per dollar in about a year and a half.

Meanwhile, Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, is higehr by 0.9% at $59.95 per barrel.

As for the rest of the world, here’s the scoreboard as of 7:43 a.m. ET:

• The British pound is down by 0.2% at 1.2304 against the dollar after the latest services PMI reading came in at 56.2 in December, above the flash estimate of 54.7. “Exceeding all expectations, the year ended on a high for the service sector, which rounded off the strongest quarter in 2016 as new business and employment levels continued to grow,” wrote David Noble from the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply said in a release.
• The US dollar index is down by 0.5% at 102.24 ahead of a heavy data day. ADP Employment Change will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET before initial jobless claims and Markit services PMI cross the wires at 8:30 a.m. ET and 9:45 a.m. ET, respectively.
• The Japanese yen is up by 0.6% at 116.55 per dollar.
• The euro is stronger by 0.2% at 1.0507 against the dollar.