MOSCOW: The Russian rouble weakened on Wednesday on lower crude prices, but losses were tamed by increased demand for the Russian currency due to monthly tax payments.
At 0730 GMT, the rouble was 0.3 percent weaker against the dollar at 66.06 and had lost 0.2 percent to trade at 75.04 versus the euro. Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 2.3 percent at $43.02 a barrel after Kuwaiti oil workers ended a strike.
"The activity of exporters (in the market) will keep increasing until the end of the week, thereby supporting demand for the Russian currency," analysts at Forex Club wrote in a note.
Russian exporters must convert part of their revenues each month to pay taxes, which according to a Reuters poll can come to 1.35 trillion roubles ($20.44 billion) in April.
Forex Club analysts also see speculative factors influencing the rouble trade, which should keep the rouble within the range of 65.00-67.00 roubles per dollar.
Russian share indexes were down, with the dollar-denominated RTS index down 0.8 percent to 919 points and the rouble-based MICEX 0.2 percent lower at 1,928 points.
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