MOSCOW: The Russian rouble traded weaker early on Thursday as oil prices fell, while Moscow-listed shares were mixed.
At 0745 GMT, the rouble was 0.5 percent weaker against the dollar at 65.03 and had lost 0.7 percent to trade at 69.63 versus the euro.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.7 percent at $46.3 a barrel after inventory reports indicated a larger-than-expected build in U.S. oil stocks.
Those reports overshadowed bullish comments by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak on Wednesday that he saw "big chances" for OPEC to agree on production limits by Nov. 30 and that Russia would support any such agreement.
Russian's dollar-denominated RTS share index was down 0.5 percent to 984 points, while the rouble-based MICEX was 0.2 percent higher at 2,033 points.
European share indexes were expected to open slightly higher, mirroring moves on Asian markets as a surge in the U.S. dollar eased.
The rouble is expected to be supported towards the end of the month by tax payments for which exporters convert a portion of their foreign-currency revenues.
But Rosbank analysts noted that demand for foreign currency among the Russian population had been high in recent months. They cited central bank data showing that net forex demand in September totalled $2.2 billion, the highest since early 2015.
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