Russian rouble hits more than 3-week high; OFZ auctions, Fed in focus

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble firmed to a more than three-week high versus the US dollar ahead of two OFZ treasury bond auctions on Wednesday, with market participants also focused on a US Federal Reserve policy meeting later in the day.

At 0811 GMT, the rouble was 0.3% stronger against the dollar at 73.52, earlier touching 73.5075, its strongest since July 6.

It had gained 0.4% to trade at 86.80 versus the euro.

"Focus today will be on (US Fed Chairman Jerome) Powell's comments in the press conference that follows the Fed's decision - nobody expects a rate change," said BCS Global Markets in a note.

Russian rouble falls to fresh six-month low vs dollar

Russia's finance ministry will offer two OFZ treasury bonds at auction later on Wednesday, the first auctions since the central bank hiked its key interest rate by 100 basis points to 6.5% last week to fight stubbornly high inflation.

These bonds are popular among foreign investors for their lucrative yields, but US sanctions have barred US banks from buying new rouble-denominated state debt since June 14. They can still invest in outstanding issues.

The inflow of foreign money into OFZ treasury bonds last week increased at its fastest pace so far this year, amid expectations that a sharp rate increase could hasten the end of the monetary-tightening cycle.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 0.4% at $74.77 a barrel, pushing Russian stock indexes higher.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.9% to 1,609.3 points, a near two-week high. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.6% higher at 3,756.1 points.