MOSCOW: The Russian rouble edged lower on Monday, dragged down by a weaker oil price but supported by companies accumulating roubles to pay upcoming dividends.
At 0750 GMT, the rouble was 0.4 percent weaker against the dollar at 64.23 and had lost 0.3 percent to 70.85 versus the euro.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 1.8 percent at $45.9 a barrel.
"The rouble is withstanding the recent plunge of the oil price with enviable stubbornness," Instaforex analyst Igor Kovalev said in a note.
"It's entirely clear that the role of counterweight to the oil factor is now being played by the dividend period, which provided decent support to our currency last week."
However, analysts cautioned that once Russian companies start paying out dividends in the coming weeks, conversions into forex by foreign investors will weigh on the rouble.
Russian share indexes fell with the weaker oil price, outweighing a generally bullish mood on global markets.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.7 percent to 928 points, while the rouble-based MICEX was 0.1 percent lower at 1,893 points.
Shares in diamond miner Alrosa were up 2 percent, following the sale of a 10.9 percent stake at the end of last week, the first major Russian privatisation for almost four years.
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