Rouble steady in light trade, MOEX hits record high

MOSCOW: A rise in oil prices pushed Russia's benchmark MOEX stock index to a record high on Wednesday, while the rouble was steady in light trade.

The rouble-based MOEX rose as far as 3,628.43 points and was 1.4% higher at 3,626.1 by 1206 GMT.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 1.6% to 1,527.3 points, close to a near seven-week high.

The rouble, meanwhile, has now pared most of last week's losses incurred after the US embassy in Moscow said it was cutting consular staff by 75% and that from May 12 it would stop processing non-immigrant visas for non-diplomatic travel.

It was 0.1% stronger against the dollar at 74.80 and had gained 0.1% to trade at 89.83 versus the euro.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 0.9% at $69.76 a barrel.

Expectations of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden are favourable for the geopolitical backdrop, Veles Capital said in a note.

Biden on Tuesday said he would like to hold his proposed summit with Putin in June during a trip to Europe.

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

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