Russian central bank probably intervening to aid rouble on Friday

MOSCOW: The Russian central bank was probably intervening in the foreign exchange market to support the rouble in early minutes of trading on Friday, two traders told Reuters.

The rouble firmed strongly against the dollar and the euro in early trade, by as much as 3.3 percent on the day against the dollar. At 0715 GMT, the rouble was 1.3 percent firmer at 53.53 against the US currency.

The central bank releases its interventions data only with a two-day lag.