Russian rouble tumbles

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble gave up early gains to hit more than a one-month low on Monday in volatile trade, hampered by geopolitical risks related to the arrest of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and subsequent protests calling for his release.

By 1347 GMT the rouble was 0.3% weaker against the dollar at 75.54, having touched its weakest level since Dec. 23 of 75.5825.

It had lost 0.1% versus the euro to trade at 91.73, earlier hitting its lowest mark since Jan. 5 of 91.8000.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was down 0.2% at $55.29 a barrel.

Russian stock indexes were mixed. The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.1% to 1,417.2 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.4% up at 3,397.1 points.