Russian rouble steadies, buffeted by sanctions headwinds before long weekend

The Russian rouble firmed marginally on Thursday, trading in the 92-93 range against the dollar where it has spent most of this week, facing sanctions headwinds with the Russian market set to embark on a long weekend due to a national holiday.

The Russian rouble firmed marginally on Thursday, trading in the 92-93 range against the dollar where it has spent most of this week, facing sanctions headwinds with the Russian market set to embark on a long weekend due to a national holiday. At 0757 GMT, the rouble was 0.1% stronger against the dollar at 92.46 and had lost 0.3% versus the euro to trade at 100.29. It firmed 0.1% against the yuan to 12.78.

Traders may opt to hedge rouble positions by buying foreign currency ahead of the long weekend in Russia, said Alor Broker's Alexei Antonov. The market will be closed on Friday to mark Defender of the Fatherland day. Western nations may also announce more sanctions against Russia on the second anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

"The (rouble) is under pressure from sanctions risks, which prevents it from taking advantage of support factors in the form of the stable situation in oil prices and increased supply of foreign currency from exporters," said Bogdan Zvarich of Banki.ru. Month-end tax payments usually see exporters convert foreign currency revenues to meet local liabilities, supporting the rouble.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 0.4% at $83.33 a barrel. Russian stock indexes were higher.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.5% to 1,073.3 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.4% higher at 3,150.8 points. For Russian equities guide see

For Russian treasury bonds see