Again from Energy Burrito at Oilprice.com:
…the Russian ruble has been gradually depreciating throughout this year amid rising geopolitical tension in Ukraine. It has now dropped 12% versus the US dollar in 2014.
Yet while a falling ruble hurts Russian imports as they become increasingly more expensive to buy, Russia reaps the rewards when it comes to exports. And it is seeing the greatest benefit from its largest export: oil. To the tune of 7 million barrels a day.
Hence, while crude prices in US dollars have dropped 12% in value since the beginning of July, crude oil in rubles has only dropped 3.4%. For Russian coffers, it is good for the ruble to be bad…
Read more at Bad Has Never Looked So Good.