Rouble stable as lower oil prices offset weaker dollar

MOSCOW: The rouble opened little changed against the broadly weaker dollar on Tuesday, fighting off downward pressure from lower oil prices.

At 0720 GMT, the rouble was 0.1 percent stronger against the dollar at 64.69 and had lost 0.1 percent to trade at 73.42 versus the euro.

Analysts point out that the rouble responds quicker to a fall in crude prices rather than growth and they expect it to weaken later on Tuesday, possibly crossing 65 roubles per dollar.

"Today, there will be a fight to break through this (65 roubles) level," Anastasia Semyonova, an analyst at OBR Forex investment house in Moscow, wrote in a note.

"And if that happens, the road will open towards the next support level of 65.20 roubles (per dollar)."

Brent crude, a global benchmark for Russia's oil, was down 0.4 percent at $49.00 a barrel.

The rouble will be getting some support this week from the beginning of a series of monthly corporate tax payments which spur demand for the Russian currency.

Market players will also follow the dollar trade on global markets, with attention centred on Friday's speech by the US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that could shed some light on the possibility of raising rates in September.

"The continued decline of the dollar is one of the main factors (to influence local trade)," Alexei Antonov, an analyst at Alor Broker in Moscow, wrote in a note. Russian share indexes were virtually unchanged and trading volumes were low, analysts said. The dollar-denominated RTS index was at 962 points, while the rouble-based MICEX was at 1,978 points.