MOSCOW: The Russian rouble recovered on Wednesday afternoon, reversing earlier losses to trade little changed on the day as exporter forex sales countered pressure from falling oil prices.
At 1315 GMT, the rouble was 0.1 percent stronger against the dollar at 78.24 but had lost 0.2 percent to trade at 85.19 versus the euro.
Brent crude oil, a benchmark for Russia's main export and a crucial driver for Russian assets, was down 1.2 percent at $31.4 a barrel.
A currency dealer at a large Western bank in Moscow said overseas market participants had stopped "attacking the rouble", perhaps because of hopes that oil had plumbed its lowest point and would now stabilise.
Oil's relentless plunge to multi-year lows sent the rouble to record lows against the dollar last week.
Both oil and the rouble have had a mixed week thus far, and the Russian currency is trading close to levels it ended at on Friday against the dollar.
Traders said exporters were selling foreign currency ahead of profit tax payments due on Thursday, while analysts at Alfa Bank repeated in a note that exporters have "unofficial duties" to sell foreign currency.
The Russian government has been monitoring firms' sales of foreign currency since late 2014, when pressure on the rouble built in the wake of Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict and steep falls in oil prices.
On Wednesday market attention was also focused on the results of the two-day U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting that ends later in the day and will set the tone for trading on global markets.
Russian shares rose, catching up with Tuesday's late oil rally. So too did emerging market indexes.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 2.4 percent to 699 points, while its rouble-based peer MICEX traded 2 percent higher at 1,739 points.
Moscow-based analysts remained cautious on the outlook for stocks, however, given lingering oil price volatility and gloomy news on the Russian economy.
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