MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. The US dollar rose by 2.03 rubles on the Moscow Exchange on Tuesday from Monday’s close to 65.2 while the euro increased by 2.58 rubles to 77.26, hitting their highs since December 2014.

The ruble is falling amid the continued decrease in world oil prices.

The price of Brent crude fell by 4.3% on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in London on Tuesday to $45.39 per barrel while WTI dropped by 3.39% to $44.52 per barrel by 07:50 GMT, hitting their lows since the spring of 2009.

The world prices of oil, a major Russian export commodity, remain a dominant factor exerting pressure on the ruble, ING Bank Chief Economist for Russia and Kazakhstan Dmitry Polevoy said. “The forthcoming tax period can lend only some support to the ruble; however, the ruble is likely to continue weakening further, unless oil prices recover,” the expert said. “The ruble’s fall can only be restrained by the mandatory sale of foreign currency by state companies, which are under close control of financial authorities,” he added.

Only a contraction in supply on the oil market can help oil prices recover, Sloth Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said.