The Russian ruble is on fire as crude oil prices rise to 11-month highs.
The ruble is up 1.4% at 63.7285 per dollar, while Brent crude oil prices are higher by 1.6% at $52.28 per barrel.
And, perhaps not so unexpectedly, other petro-currencies are stronger, too. The Mexican peso is stronger by 1.0% at 18.1808 per dollar and the Canadian dollar is up by 0.5% at 1.2673 per dollar.
As for the rest of the world, here's the scoreboard as of 8:21 a.m. ET:
- The Japanese yen is up 0.3% at 107.03 per dollar after Japan's economy grew by 0.5% in the first quarter, above economists' expectations of 0.4% growth. On an annual basis, the economy grew by 1.9%.
- The dollar index is down 0.3% at 93.58 ahead of the latest JOLTS data. This report, which is a favorite of Chair Yellen's, is a good overview of how dynamic the US labor market is or is not. We'll get to see the quits rate, which is a proxy for how confident workers are with the idea being you won't quit your job unless you're reasonably confidence you can get another one.
- The South African rand is up by 1.20% after Fitch affirmed South Africa's BBB- rating. However, the country's economy sharply contracted by 1.2% in the first quarter.
- The euro is stronger by 0.2% at 1.1378 against the dollar after the European Central Bank began its corporate sector purchase programme, or CSPP, which will buy corporate bonds of companies with a high credit rating on a weekly basis.
- The Polish zloty is higher by 0.9% at 3.7984 per dollar after the Polish MPC kept interest rates unchanged at 1.50%, as was expected. "We think the Council will keep the policy rate at its current historic low throughout this year and next," wrote Capital Economics' William Jackson in a note to clients.