It is in the interest of Russia's economy and export firms that the rouble weakens in the short term, one of the country's mining tycoons has claimed.

According to Reuters, Vladimir Potanin foresees "a collapse" if Russia's main suppliers of export revenue continue to cut back on investment as they have been doing.

Commenting on the prospect of a weakening rouble, he told Vedomosti newspaper: "It will help them cut costs until they can resume financing modernisation in a acceptable way."

Speaking to Moscow News this week, the head of investment strategy at financial giant VTB, Ivan Ivanchenko, said the fate of the rouble will be defined by the price of oil and Central Bank policy.

He believes the latter is unlikely to change unless the balance of payments turns into a deficit.

"The current policy choice is a stable rouble, despite the harsh economic reality calling for a much easier monetary policy and a weaker currency," he remarked to the news provider.

On the subject of oil prices, he identified "risk appetite and generous liquidity" as driving them up, though he concluded that "the fundamentals [look] rather bearish near term".