MOSCOW: The rouble stabilised close to the 61 mark against the dollar on Monday, while shares in Gazprom inched lower after Russia said it had stopped gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
At 0812 GMT, the rouble was down 0.2% to 60.65 against the dollar and up 1.3% to 60.02 against the euro.
The currency market lacks ideas and the dollar-rouble pair is expected to remain in a 60-61 range, Promsvyazbank analysts said in a note.
Rouble volatility has subsided since the currency hit a record low of 121.53 per dollar in Moscow trade in March, soon after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.
It then rallied to a seven year high of 50.01 per dollar in June.
So far this year, the rouble has been the world’s best-performing currency, buoyed by emergency capital controls rolled out by the central bank in a bid to halt a mass sell-off.
Russian stocks hit over 3-month high, rouble hovers near 60 vs dollar
On the stock market, the dollar-denominated RTS index dipped 0.1% to 1,282.5 points and the rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.1% lower at 2,468.0 points.
Shares in Gazprom underperformed the market and fell 0.5% on the day after rallying last week thanks to a dividend payment announcement.
Gazprom remains in focus as the latest Nord Stream shutdown, which Russia says will last for as long as it takes to carry out repairs, added to European fears of winter gas shortages that could help tip major economies into recession and energy rationing.
“A new rise in gas prices in Europe is guaranteed, and for Gazprom itself - a further decline in production,” Finam brokerage said in a note.
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