Ruble Extends Advance After Medvedev Calls off Georgia Campaign

By Emma O'Brien

Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- The ruble extended an advance against its dollar-euro basket after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called off the country's military operations in Georgia, according to the Kremlin press service.

The currency gained 1.2 percent versus the basket to 29.4602 as of 1 p.m. in Moscow, from 29.8230 yesterday. It rose 1 percent to 24.1802 to the dollar, and climbed 1.3 percent to 35.9597 against the euro. The basket, which is made up of about 55 percent dollars and 45 percent euros, is used by policy makers to contain the ruble's fluctuations.

Russia has secured the safety of Russian peacekeepers and citizens in the disputed Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Medvedev said in comments released through the Kremlin.

To contact the reporter on this story: Emma O'Brien in Moscow at eobrien6@bloomberg.net