MOSCOW: The Russian rouble steadied within the 60-61 range against the US dollar on Friday, as the market awaited the return of the finance ministry to the debt market with its weekly auctions of OFZ treasury bonds that it halted in February.
At 0734 GMT, the rouble was 0.2% stronger against the dollar at 60.60 and eased 1% to 60.95 against the euro, , remaining in a narrow range against both the currencies since the second half of August.
The rouble is the world’s best-performing currency this year, buoyed by emergency capital controls rolled out by the central bank in a bid to halt a mass sell-off.
Market players keep an eye on the finance ministry that plans to restart weekly auctions, which used to take place on Wednesdays, later in September to test the market’s appetite with limited volumes of OFZs on offer.
Russia suspended borrowing through the OFZ bonds, which it uses to plug budget holes, in February, weeks before it started what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine, which triggered unprecedented Western sanctions against Moscow.
The finance ministry is not in need of extra funds at the moment and its aim is to support the debt market and increase liquidity of the state bonds, said Evgeny Zhornist, portfolio manager at Alfa-Capital.
Russian stock indexes were up. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index rose 0.7% 2,406.3, while the dollar-denominated RTS index gained 1.1% to 1,251.1.
Demand for stocks can increase, while demand for short-term bonds will decline after the central bank cuts rates next week, said Georgy Vaschenko, deputy head of research department at Freedom Finance Global.
A Reuters poll of economists predicted the central bank will cut its key rate to 7.5% from 8% at the Sept. 16 board meeting.
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