MOSCOW: The Russian rouble rose on Tuesday morning, extending recent gains as imminent monthly tax payments outweighed a softening of the oil price ahead of an OPEC meeting.
At 0820 GMT, the rouble was 0.6 percent stronger against the dollar at 45.27 and 0.5 percent stronger at 56.22 versus the euro.
Russian companies pay monthly mineral extraction tax on Tuesday, requiring major exporters to convert foreign currency earnings into roubles. Profit tax, another major payment, falls due on Nov. 28.
The rouble has risen for each of the preceding five sessions, against the backdrop of a stabilisation of the oil price before Thursday's OPEC meeting where the oil producers' club may decide to cut production to support prices.
On Tuesday oil benchmark Brent was down around 40 cents at 79.25, however, reflecting continuing uncertainty over whether OPEC will agree on production cuts. "Looking forward, we think Russian FX trading is to remain volatile, especially if the outcome of OPEC's meeting disappoints," VTB Capital analyst Maxim Korovin said in a note.
Russian stock indexes fell back on Tuesday, as the falling oil price and uncertainty over the OPEC meeting encouraged caution after recent gains.
The dollar-based RTS index was down 1.7 percent to 1,058 points, while the rouble-based MICEX was down 0.6 percent to 1,520 points. "In the absence of other drivers the Russian equity market will probably fall in line with the oil price," BCS analyst Mark Bradford said in a note.
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