Russian rouble inches higher, Western sanctions in focus

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble firmed slightly against the globally weaker US dollar on Thursday but hovered close to recent lows under pressure from concerns that Moscow may face more Western sanctions.

The rouble gained 0.1pc to 77.97 as of 0749 GMT, moving away from 79.9750 it hit last week, its weakest level since March.

Versus the euro, the rouble was 0.1pc stronger at 91.74, far away from levels of around 70 seen in early 2020 before the new coronavirus wave hit Russia and oil prices fell.

Political unrest in Kyrgyzstan, turmoil in neighbouring Belarus, a military conflict in the South Caucasus and the suspected poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny all exerted pressure on the rouble.

France and Germany said on Wednesday they would propose European Union sanctions against Russian individuals after receiving no credible answers from Moscow over the poisoning of Navalny with a nerve agent.

This news could be considered positive for Russian assets given that Europe is not mulling wide-scale economic restrictions, Otkritie Bank said in a note.

In the short term, the rouble may return to the 76-77 range against the dollar, Otkritie said.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 0.4pc at $42.41 a barrel as oil workers evacuated rigs in the US Gulf of Mexico ahead of Hurricane Delta, though fuel demand concerns persisted.

Russian stock indexes were up.

The dollar-denominated RTS index rose 0.7pc to 1,151.6 points.

The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.3pc higher at 2,851.4 points.

Shares in gas giant Gazprom underperformed the market and slid 0.2pc on the day after Poland fined the company around $7.6 billion for building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline without Warsaw's approval.