Russian rouble firms past 75 vs dollar, stocks climb

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble firmed in light trade on Tuesday, climbing beyond the 75 mark against the dollar amid higher oil prices that also buttressed stock indexes.

At 1054 GMT, the rouble gained 0.4% to 74.88 against the dollar after a three-day weekend, heading towards its strongest level since March 22 of 74.19 touched last week.

The rouble pared some losses of the past week that it incurred after the US embassy said it was cutting consular staff by 75% and that from May 12 it would stop processing non-immigrant visas for non-diplomatic travel.

The rouble is seen returning to the 74-75 range against the dollar this week, Locko Invest said in a note.

Versus the euro, the rouble added 0.5% to 89.96.

Although fears of imminent sanctions against Moscow have somewhat declined in the past weeks, the rouble still retains a geopolitical discount. In 2020, when oil prices hovered near current levels, the rouble was at around 61 versus the dollar and 68 to the euro.

Trading activity is set to be below average this week as President Vladimir Putin declared May 1 - May 10 to be non-working days.

Brent crude oil LCOc1, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 2.1% at $68.97 a barrel, after more US states eased lockdowns and the European Union sought to attract travellers, helping to offset concerns over fuel demand in India as COVID-19 cases soar.

On the stock market, the dollar-denominated RTS index rose 1.7% to 1,510.6 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 1.3% higher at 3,590.8 points, moving closer to an all-time high of 3,627.91 hit last week.