Rouble stable as central bank resumes FX purchases

MOSCOW: The rouble was stable on Tuesday as the Russian central bank was set to resume foreign exchange purchases after a five-month hiatus.

At 0745 GMT, the rouble was stable against the dollar at 67.11 and had lost less than 0.1 percent to trade at 77.00 versus the euro.

The Russian central bank halted forex purchases in August when the rouble was especially volatile and was set to resume them on Tuesday.

These operations, which will restore daily downside pressure on the rouble, are not expected to disrupt the market balance, according to Alexei Zabotkin, head of the central bank's monetary policy department.

The rouble could also feel the effects of the U.S. Senate voting on Tuesday on a resolution criticizing the Trump administration's decision to ease sanctions on companies linked to Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska.

The measure is unlikely to pass given the Republican majority in the chamber.

Shares in Russia's largest lender Sberbank rose 0.66 percent to 198.10 roubles after the bank reported a 24 percent rise in 2018 net profit to 811 billion roubles ($12 billion).

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 1.05 percent at $59.61 a barrel.

Russian stock indexes were also higher.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.2 percent at 1,149.39 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.33 percent higher at 2,448.86 points.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said last month he did not expect any significant rouble volatility this year under his ministry's baselines scenario.