MOSCOW: The Russian rouble slipped in early trade on Friday, taking its cue from falling oil prices.
By 0732 GMT, the rouble was 0.4 percent weaker against the dollar at 66.05 and had lost 0.3 percent to trade at 73.84 versus the euro.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, fell 0.9 percent to about $49.1 a barrel after failing to strengthen above $50 a barrel on Thursday.
Oil prices were pressured by a strong dollar and as investors worried higher prices could reactivate shuttered output.
Despite falling on Friday, the Russian currency is up about 1 percent against the dollar this week after rallying strongly on Tuesday and Wednesday.
It has been keeping step with oil prices for weeks.
Analysts caution the rouble might be vulnerable to wild swings as uncertainty builds before the US Federal Reserve's next monetary policy meeting in mid-June.
On Friday traders were awaiting a speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen at 1715 GMT for clues on whether the US central bank could raise interest rates as early as next month.
Russian share indexes were mixed on Friday.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.1 percent to 917 points, while the rouble-based MICEX was 0.6 percent higher at 1,925 points.
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