Russian rouble slips as risk-off sentiment grows

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble slipped on Wednesday as market hopes for a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve faded.

After opening flat, the rouble fell 0.5% against the dollar to 63.16 and had lost 0.5% to trade versus the euro at 71.78  by 1010 GMT.

Analysts had expected the rouble to fall despite high oil prices and a treasury bond auction taking place on Wednesday that usually buttresses the Russian currency.

"Risk-off has become firmly entrenched in global markets this week, including Russia," Alfa-Bank said in a note.

The Russian market was affected by fading investor optimism of a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve after St. Louis Fed President James Bullard downplayed the need for a cut next month, Alfa-Bank said.

The prospect of a Fed rate cut increases demand for emerging-market currencies as investors look for higher-yielding assets.

"There are so far no reasons for significant rouble strengthening given that the dollar is stable on the global financial market," said Alexei Antonov of Alor Brokerage.

Oil prices hit their highest level in nearly a month on Wednesday, supported by an outage at a major refinery on the U.S. East Coast and industry data that showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell more than expected.

The Russian finance ministry will auction OFZ treasury bonds later on Wednesday, which also often bolsters the rouble.

The Russian currency also lost support from month-end tax payments that were completed early this week. These taxes usually prompt export-focused companies to convert their foreign currency to meet local duties.

Russian stock indexes were mixed.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was flat at 1,380 points, while the rouble-based MOEX Russian index was steady at 2,770 points.