Russian rouble steady, stocks at highest since late February

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble was steady on Monday, lacking momentum amid stable oil prices as players kept an eye on the political crisis in neighbouring Belarus, while stocks rose further to the levels of late February.

At 0744 GMT, the rouble was 0.1pc weaker against the dollar at 72.95 and lost 0.2pc to trade at 86.44 versus the euro.

The rouble will remain under pressure from events in Belarus, said Alexei Antonov, chief analyst at Alor Brokerage.

"While there this carries no direct threat for the rouble, any escalation of the political situation in a particular country is always negative for currencies of its neighbours," Antonov said.

Belarus has seen massive protests in recent days against the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Opponents of Lukashenko, in power for 26 years, say the vote was rigged to disguise the fact that he has lost public support.

He denies losing, citing official results that gave him just over 80pc of the vote.

Later this month, the rouble may receive support from local taxes that prompt some companies to convert their revenues.

"During the upcoming week, the rouble could receive tailwinds from hard-currency selling by exporters ahead of tax payments - the bulk of them is scheduled on next Tuesday," VTB Capital said in a note.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 0.4pc at $44.99 a barrel following news China plans to ship large volumes of US crude, which outweighed concerns over a slowdown in demand recovery after the coronavirus pandemic and an uptick in supplies.

Russian stock indexes were up.

The rouble-based MOEX Russian index rose 0.7pc to 3,084.5 points, its highest since Feb. 21, hovering at levels seen before a sharp drop in oil prices and the coronavirus outbreak in Russia.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.6pc at 1,332.3 points.