MOSCOW: Russia's rouble slipped back on Thursday after a three-day rally on hopes for a thaw in relations between Russia and the West, with analysts saying weak oil prices were limiting further gains.
At 0815 GMT, the rouble was 0.3 percent weaker against the dollar at 64.94 and had lost 0.5 percent to 69.33 versus the euro.
The Russian currency was still up around 3 percent this week even though the price of oil, normally the most important driver for the rouble, remains close to two-and-a-half-month lows.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 0.7 percent on Thursday to $44.45 a barrel.
"The rouble continues to look strong compared to cheap oil," analysts at Rosbank said in a note.
Russian assets saw strong gains from Monday as talk of joint efforts between Russia and the West to combat Islamic State raised the prospect of a wider rapprochement that may help resolve differences over the conflict in Ukraine.
But Sberbank analysts said investors were now looking for more concrete evidence of improved ties for the market to advance further.
Russian share indexes were higher on Thursday in line with moves on global markets, following minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve which suggested the central bank would tighten policy with caution following a December rate rise.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.7 percent to 883 points, while the rouble-based MICEX was 0.5 percent higher at 1,819 points.
The Fed minutes also helped check the rouble's losses versus the greenback, as the U.S. currency dipped.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.