MOSCOW: The Russian rouble was steady, while stocks went lower in early trade on Monday as oil prices declined.
At 0712 GMT, the rouble eased 0.18 percent to 63.13 against the dollar but had gained 0.05 percent to trade at 69.19 versus the euro.
The rouble enjoys support from the central bank's tight monetary policy as Russian assets provide attractive yields. On the other hand, expectations of a rate increase in the United States and looming elections speak for higher risk aversion.
"Overall, increased probability of an uncertain outcome to the U.S. Presidential Election on November 8 would likely shape the markets' performance this week," VTB Capital analysts said in a research note.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.66 percent at $49.38 per barrel after non-OPEC producers made no specific commitment to agree on limiting oil output levels in order to prop up prices.
The rouble-traded MICEX index shed 0.14 percent to 1978.99 , while its dollar-denominated peer RTS was down 0.51 percent to 987.07 points.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.