MOSCOW: The Russian rouble was little changed in thin trade on Wednesday, remaining under pressure from Moscow's geopolitical tensions with the West, while stock indexes pared overnight gains to inch lower.
At 0730 GMT, the rouble was 0.1% stronger against the dollar and the euro, trading at 73.66 and 83.24 respectively.
The rouble is oversold and could return to the 73.0-73.5 range against the dollar during the day but global fears about the Omicron variant of coronavirus can put downside pressure on the Russian currency, Promsvyazbank analysts said in a note.
The rouble has been under increased geopolitical pressure since October as Western nations expressed concerns about Russia's military build-up near neighbouring Ukraine. Moscow said it can move its army within its territory as it deems necessary.
Trading activity has faded and is expected to stay below average until Jan. 10, the end of Russia's New Year holidays. The Moscow Exchange will be closed on Dec. 31 and resume trading on the forex market on Jan. 3.
Russian stock indexes were down, with the dollar-denominated RTS index falling 0.1% to 1,610.2 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index slid 0.4% to 3,764.2 points, staying below the 4,000 mark for more than a month.
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