Drip, drip, drip just doesn't quite catch the flavor any more

Russia said yesterday it had abandoned efforts to tie the rouble's movement closely to the dollar and switched to shadowing both the euro and the US currency.

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With 81 per cent of Russia's oil exports currently sold to Europe, the move also provoked fresh speculation that Russia could decide to denominate its oil in euros. Russia is the world's second-largest oil exporter, behind Saudi Arabia.

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"The rouble's performance has been highly correlated with the dollar. Now it will be more aligned with the euro," said Paul Timmons, economist at Moscow Narodny Bank.

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Moscow's move illustrates the growing global importance of the euro at a time when a number of central banks have been shifting reserves out of the dollar into the shared European currency.

"It is symptomatic of a global trend and reflects the growing international role of the euro," said Ralph Sueppel, head of emerging Europe strategy at Merrill Lynch.
  Financial Times article