MOSCOW: The rouble weakened on Thursday following a retreat in oil prices, with trading thin ahead of President Vladimir Putin's annual phone-in with the nation that may spring surprises.
At 0730 GMT, the rouble was 0.5 percent weaker against the dollar at 66.060, after losing nearly 1 percent on Wednesday to become the worst emerging markets currency performer that trading session.
The rouble lost 0.1 percent to trade at 74.87 versus the euro.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 1.8 percent at $43.40 a barrel, on concerns that a planned production freeze by major global producers may have little substance.
At 0900 GMT Putin is expected to begin an annual televised phone-in, taking questions from the public across Russia for several hours.
"It is not really probable that we will hear something really important," ING economist Dmitry Polevoy wrote in a morning note.
"It will most likely again be a well-orchestrated show with the basic premise that 'all is well'."
Russian share indexes were mixed, tracking the rouble performance.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.8 percent to 915 points, while the rouble-based MICEX was 0.1 percent higher at 1,933 points.
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