Russian rouble slides on lower oil price, rising dollar

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble opened slightly weaker on Wednesday, under pressure from a weak oil price and stronger dollar.

At 0720 GMT, the rouble was 0.2 percent weaker against the dollar at 56.67 and had lost 0.1 percent to trade at 69.87 versus the euro.

The rouble has been weighed down in recent days by rising confidence in the dollar. The dollar tumbled last week triggered by mounting concerns over the US budget deficit.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.6 percent at $64.87 a barrel, kept under pressure by surging US oil production.

The United States now boasts the world's second-largest oil stream at more than 10 million barrels per day (bpd), only slightly behind Russia.