Russian rouble slides past 74 vs dollar as sanctions concerns weigh

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble slid from a one-week high in light trade on Friday as investors focused on the risk of new sanctions against Russia.

After climbing to 73.63 against the dollar in early trade, the rouble shed 0.3% on the day to 74.14 versus the greenback as of 1324 GMT.

The threat of sanctions has dented the currency this month after the United States promised to retaliate over a massive hacking campaign that allegedly involved Russians.

Washington is also urging European allies and private companies to halt work that could help build the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline and is preparing wider sanctions on the Russian project in coming weeks.

Concerns over sanctions will linger, but the rouble has a chance of holding on to its recent gains to trade around 73-74 per dollar at the end of the year, said Dmitry Polevoy, head of investment at Locko Invest.

In 2021, the rouble could firm to 68-70 against the dollar thanks to fundamental factors, said Rosbank, a subsidiary of Societe Generale.

The rouble had been trading at around 61 to the dollar in early 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Against the euro, the rouble eased 0.3% to 90.35 .

Russian stock indexes were mixed. The dollar-denominated RTS index slid 0.1% to 1,376.8 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.2% higher at 3,243.4 points, having hit an all-time high of 3,318.39 last week.

Shares in gas giant Gazprom underperformed the market, falling 0.6% on the day and extending losses of the previous day, which Sberbank CIB analysts said was driven by "reignited fears of Nord Stream-2 sanctions."