MOSCOW: The Russian rouble weakened on Tuesday after news of explosions at Brussels airport and a metro station, reversing gains seen at opening.
At 0842 GMT, the rouble was 0.4 percent weaker against the dollar at 68.10, weakening swiftly in reaction to news of the explosions in Brussels.
The rouble was also down 0.1 percent to trade at 76.32 versus the euro.
Safe-haven assets have risen globally after news of the explosions.
The rouble opened higher on Tuesday, helped by stronger crude prices and increased interest in the currency from foreign investors who have been pushing trading volumes up.
"The interest of foreign investors is also visible in the significantly higher transactions turnover," Rosbank analysts wrote in a note.
They said the volume of daily transactions has averaged $5.3 billion per day since the beginning of the month, compared to $4.4 billion in February.
Russian share indexes also were lower after the Brussels explosions.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.6 percent to 879 points, while the rouble-based MICEX was 0.1 percent lower at 1,904 points.
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