MOSCOW: The Russian rouble was slightly weaker on Wednesday morning but currency conversions for monthly tax payments helped offset a lower oil price and global risk aversion resulting from bomb attacks in Brussels the day before.
At 0753 GMT, the rouble was 0.3 percent down against the dollar at 67.67 and had lost 0.1 percent to 75.75 versus the euro.
The rouble slipped after news of the Brussels attacks because of heightened global risk aversion, but it ended Tuesday stronger, touching a 2016 high of 67.2 against the dollar.
"The news about the terrorist attacks in Brussels practically didn't influence the dynamics of the rouble," Instaforex analyst Igor Kovalev said in a note.
Rosbank analysts said in a note that emerging market currencies in general had reacted in a "very restrained" manner to the attacks.
The rouble on Wednesday showed some resistance to a decline in global oil prices. Brent, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 1.0 percent at $41.4 a barrel on Wednesday.
Analysts said the rouble was being supported by the monthly tax period, when exporters need to convert foreign currency to pay rouble taxes. Mineral Extraction Tax falls due on Friday, while profit tax falls due on Monday.
Russian share indexes fell. The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.6 percent to 883 points, while the rouble-based MICEX was 0.3 percent lower at 1,898 points.
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