THE Russian ruble, stocks and bonds tumbled Friday as global oil prices broke below US$30 per barrel.

    At 1210 GMT, the ruble was 2 percent weaker against the dollar at 77.54 and down 2.3 percent to 84.58 versus the euro.

    Russia’s dollar-denominated RTS share index was down 4.9 percent to 659 points while the ruble-based MICEX was 3.5 percent lower at 1,622 points.

    Earlier last week the ruble had proved relatively resilient, gaining ground Wednesday and Thursday.

    Analysts said the ruble could be supported more this week as the bulk of monthly tax payments by Russian companies are due. Russian firms are required to convert export earnings into local currency for the taxes.

    Russia’s long-dated sovereign Eurobonds also fell Friday.

    The 2042 and 2043 issues fell by around 1 percentage point in price, and are currently yielding 6.6-6.7 percent.(SD-Agencies)