Russian rouble falls on rising COVID cases, oil caps losses

MOSCOW: The rouble weakened on Monday, blunted by external risks and rising coronavirus cases in Russia, although higher oil prices and positive updates on the health of US President Donald Trump capped losses.

Geopolitical risks, including the prospect of more sanctions against Moscow, have plagued the rouble in recent weeks due to turmoil in neighbouring Belarus, the suspected poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and a military conflict in the South Caucasus.

By 1214 GMT, the rouble was 0.5pc weaker against the dollar at 78.62, having hit 79.9750 last week - the weakest level since March.

Against the euro, the rouble fell 1pc to 92.53, heading back towards a more than 4-1/2-year low hit last week.

Schools in Moscow began unplanned holidays on Monday as COVID-19 cases across the country hit their highest level since May 12.

The announcement of new state foreign currency sales for the month ahead eased pressure on the rouble.

The finance ministry said on Monday it will sell 5.8 billion roubles ($73.7 million) worth of forex a day between Oct. 7 and Nov. 6, more than doubling its FX operations from the previous month.

Actual daily forex sales will be 2.9 billion roubles higher as part of the central bank's sale of its stake in Russia's largest lender Sberbank.

Last week, the rouble and other risky assets took a hit from the news that US President Donald Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 a month away from an election.

"Donald Trump's health will be the key factor in determining market direction in the near future," ITI Capital said.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 4.3pc at $40.97 a barrel. Russian stock indexes were up.

The dollar-denominated RTS index rose 0.1pc to 1,149.1 points.

The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.6pc higher at 2,868.4 points.