MOSCOW: The rouble touched its strongest level in nearly four weeks on Tuesday after the leaders of Russia and France held talks, with investors looking for signs of de-escalation in Moscow's standoff with the West over Ukraine.
At 0737 GMT, the rouble was 0.2% stronger against the dollar at 75.34, earlier touching 75.14, its strongest level since Jan. 13. It had gained 0.5% to trade at 85.87 versus the euro.
The rouble will likely stay near 75-76 to the greenback for now, said Dmitry Polevoy, head of investment at Locko Invest.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the first Moscow summit he has held with a Western leader since the Kremlin began massing troops near its neighbour had been substantive, while French President Emmanuel Macron said the coming days would be crucial.
Rouble recovers to 3-week high vs dollar, Putin-Macron talks in focus
The rouble has moved away from a near 15-month low of 80.4125 hit last month when Western powers threatened to impose more sanctions if Russia invaded Ukraine. The Kremlin has denied having any such plans.
"There are signs of optimism regarding Russian geopolitical risk perception this week," said Alfa Bank in a note, pointing to the Macron-Putin meeting and Macron's scheduled talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy due later on Tuesday.
Traders are also looking ahead to Friday, when the Bank of Russia is widely expected to raise its key interest rate from 8.5% in its fight against stubbornly high inflation.
Higher rates support the rouble by making investment into rouble-denominated assets more attractive.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.8% at $91.92 a barrel, but hovering near a more than seven-year high.
Russian stock indexes were higher.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 1.2% to 1,462.9 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.8% higher at 3,498.6 points.
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