Rouble up from 3-week lows, still under pressure from US sanctions

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble stabilised on Monday at a short distance from three-week lows hit late last week, regaining support from higher oil prices but still under pressure from threats of new U.S. sanctions against Russia.

At 1251 GMT, the rouble was little changed against the dollar at 65.61 and eased 0.1 percent to trade at 73.72 versus the euro.

The rouble hovered near its lowest level since March 12 of 65.76 against the dollar it briefly touched on Friday, after Bloomberg reported the United States had prepared new sanctions against Russia over the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain last year.

This week, the rouble is seen trading within a range of 64-66 against the dollar, according to Mikhail Poddubsky, an analyst with Promsvyazbank.

Risks of sanctions against Russia remained in focus as geopolitical tensions rose in recent weeks, "primarily around the situation in Venezuela," analysts at Rosbank said in a note.

Last week White House national security adviser John Bolton issued a veiled warning to Russia about its military presence in Venezuela.

Russia has admitted it sent "specialists" to Venezuela under a military cooperation deal but insisted they posed no threat to regional stability.

Russian assets retained support from higher oil prices. Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 1.38 percent at $68.51 a barrel.

Russian stock indexes rose amid an increased appetite for risky assets supported by a surprise improvement in Chinese factory activity.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 1.05 percent to 1,210.70 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.95 percent higher at 2,520.69 points.