Russian rouble eases as oil slumps to lowest since mid-2017

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble eased slightly in thin trade on Wednesday, pricing in a slump in oil prices to their lowest in more than a year.

At 0728 GMT, the rouble was trading 0.3 percent down against the dollar at 68.84, close to its weakest level of 69.13 since mid-September, which it hit last week.

The rouble also lost against the euro, down 0.3 percent at 78.50.

Market players are keeping an eye on the Russian finance ministry that will auction its treasury OFZ bonds on Wednesday, as market activity abroad is lower than usual during Christmas holidays.

Demand for the bonds is a gauge of market sentiment, given uncertainty about whether the United States will impose sanctions on holdings of Russian state debt.

Oil prices also remained in focus after Brent crude hit their lowest since mid-2017 this week. On Wednesday, Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.6 percent at $50.16 a barrel, hovering slightly above a psychologically-important level of $50 a barrel.

Russian stock indexes were up.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.3 percent at 1,052.4 points, while the rouble-based MOEX was 0.4 percent higher at 2,299.4 points.

"Oil prices are attempting to grow. The U.S. market is quite capable of rising in the upcoming trading session. There is no motivation for more selling on the domestic (Russian) market," brokerage Otkritie said in a note.