Rouble slips despite positive trend in emerging markets

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble fell against the dollar on Wednesday despite a broadly positive trend among emerging market currencies as signs of progress in the development of a coronavirus vaccine fuelled risk appetite.

At 1455 GMT, the rouble had slipped 0.1% against the dollar to 70.91 after having been nearly flat in early trade. The Russian currency was down 0.2% to trade at 80.94 versus the euro.

Markets were optimistic after Moderna Inc said on Tuesday that its experimental vaccine for COVID-19 was safe and provoked immune responses in all 45 healthy volunteers in an ongoing early-stage study.

In recent days the rouble had been dragged down by investors' conversion of their rouble dividend payouts into foreign currencies and smaller FX interventions by the central bank.

This trend was especially visible on Wednesday as the finance ministry's sale of 73.01 billion roubles ($1.03 billion) worth of OFZ treasury bonds maturing in 2024 and 2030 was not enough to offset the downward pressure.

Demand for these two bonds stood at a combined 220.18 billion roubles, the finance ministry said.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday after EIA data showed a bigger-than-expected draw in US crude inventories.

By 1455 GMT, prices for Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, were up 1.3% to $43.46 a barrel.

Russian stock indexes were trading higher.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.3% to 1,220.4 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was trading 0.1% higher at 2,747.9 points.