Russian rouble slips to near one-week low vs dollar

The Russian rouble fell to a near one-week low against the dollar on Thursday, moving further away from the more than six-month high it hit last week but shielded from a sharper slide by capital controls, foreign currency sales and high oil prices. By 1515 GMT, the rouble was 0.6% weaker against the dollar at 89.13, though still strong relative to its 2023 average.

The Russian rouble fell to a near one-week low against the dollar on Thursday, moving further away from the more than six-month high it hit last week but shielded from a sharper slide by capital controls, foreign currency sales and high oil prices.

By 1515 GMT, the rouble was 0.6% weaker against the dollar at 89.13, though still strong relative to its 2023 average. It had lost 0.3% to trade at 96.89 versus the euro and shed 0.4% against the yuan to 12.40 . Russian authorities publicly disputed the efficacy of capital controls earlier this week, with the central bank swiftly opposing the government's proposal to extend a requirement forcing exporters to convert foreign currency revenues.

The market is looking for signals as to what decision may be taken. The controls are currently set to remain in place until April 30. State FX sales at the equivalent of 16.7 billion roubles ($188.4 million) a day are also buttressing the rouble, as are month-end tax payments that usually lead exporters to convert FX revenues to meet local liabilities.

"Despite support from the approaching tax period's peak, the dollar-rouble pair has not started testing the support level of 87.5," said Alor Broker's Alexei Antonov. "It is possible that exporters have already accumulated the bulk of roubles to pay January taxes." Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 1.6% at $81.30 a barrel.

Russian stock indexes were lower. The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.7% at 1,116.0 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.2% lower at 3,157.6 points.

For Russian equities guide see For Russian treasury bonds see ($1 = 88.6350 roubles)