The ruble fell, paring its longest stretch of weekly gains since 2012, as the Russian Finance Ministry warned the currency’s world-beating rally is excessive, Bloomberg reported. The most volatile currency globally slipped 0.4% on Friday, trimming a 3.3% advance this week. Brent, the global benchmark used to price the blend of Russian crude, rose 0.9% to the strongest level this year on Friday. The ruble is rising “more than needed,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Friday. The comments come less than a week before policy makers are set to meet to decide on borrowing costs, with analysts estimating a 100 basis-point cut in rates. “The ruble is beginning to look rather rich at 50 against the dollar, given that the underlying backdrop remains more or less unchanged,” Tom Levinson, chief currency and interest-rates strategist at Sberbank CIB in Moscow, said by e-mail.
