MOSCOW: The Russian rouble lost some of its previous day’s gains against the US dollar on Wednesday as oil prices fell and in the wait for data on forex interventions by the country’s finance ministry.
At 0815 GMT, the rouble was down 0.7% at 88.40 to the dollar, LSEG data showed.
On Tuesday it had risen more than 2%. Trading in major currencies in Russia shifted to the over-the-counter (OTC) market, obscuring price data, after Western sanctions on the Moscow Exchange and its clearing agent, the National Clearing Centre, were introduced on June 12.
The rouble was 1.7% lower at 12.32 against the Chinese yuan, which has become the most-traded foreign currency in Moscow’s Stock Exchange trade, but strengthened by 2.7% against the yuan in the OTC market, according to LSEG data.
The spreads between yuan rates in the OTC market and the stock exchange have been volatile in recent weeks, reflecting ongoing problems in international transactions with the Chinese currency that have hampered trade between the two countries.
One-day rouble-dollar futures, which trade on the Moscow Exchange and are a guide for OTC market rates, were down 0.4% at 88.32.
Russian rouble weakens against US dollar on cheaper oil
The central bank’s official exchange rate, which it calculates using OTC data, was set at 88.61 to the dollar.
The rouble was 0.9% weaker 97.81 against the euro, LSEG data showed.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was down 1.1% at $72.94 extending a plunge of more than 4% on Tuesday and hovering at its lowest since December.
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