Russia’s ruble strengthened for a second day as exporters bought the local currency to prepare for almost $15 billion of tax deadlines this month. The ruble advanced 0.6 percent to 77.893 against the dollar by 12:23 p.m. in Moscow. Government bonds rose, pushing the yield on five-year notes down 10 basis points to 10.33 percent. Exporters who must pay $14.6 billion of taxes before the end of the month, ING Groep NV said on Monday. Because companies such as Gazprom PJSC and Lukoil PJSC earn revenue in dollars the tax period boosts demand for local currency. “Exporters have been supporting the ruble last week and this factor will likely remain intact this week,” said Dmitry Polevoy, an economist for Russia at ING in Moscow. Oil still remains the long-term driver of the ruble, he said. The ruble’s decline of 6.3 percent this year hasn’t kept pace with oil’s 11 […]