Russian rouble steadies near 73 vs dollar

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble steadied near the 73 mark versus the US dollar on Monday, held back from significant growth by falling oil prices and limited risk appetite as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to hinder global economic growth.

At 0721 GMT, the rouble was 0.1% stronger against the dollar at 73.11 and was steady against the euro, versus which it was trading at 86.87.

"A slight depreciation of the rouble is possible against the backdrop of increased country risk and foreign investors' interest in assets from developed markets," said Promsvyazbank in a note.

Russian rouble falls to fresh six-month low vs dollar

But the active inflow of non-residents into OFZ treasury bonds was helping the rouble, said Dmitry Polevoy of Locko Invest.

The central bank increased its key rate sharply by 100 basis points last month. This sparked demand for OFZ bonds and a weekly inflow of foreign money into government papers reached its 2021 high.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.9% at $74.72 a barrel.

Russian stock indexes, which are attracting foreign investors due to high dividend yields, were rising.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.5% to 1,633.8 points.

The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.6% higher at 3,792.3 points.

Shares in steel pipemaker TMK were up 5.8%, jumping for the second successive session after its board recommended a dividend of 17.71 roubles ($0.2422) per share on Friday for the first half of 2021.