The Russian rouble recovered from a more than five-week low against the dollar to firm marginally on Monday, supported by higher oil prices and companies’ dividend plans after Russia said it had repelled an offensive by Ukrainian forces.
At 0745 GMT, the rouble was 0.1% stronger against the dollar at 81.44, having hit 81.92 in early trade, its lowest since April 27.
It had gained 0.4% to trade at 87.08 versus the euro and firmed 0.4% against the yuan to 11.43.
Russia said on Monday its forces had thwarted a major Ukrainian offensive at five points along the front in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk and killed hundreds of troops, while Kyiv accused Moscow of spreading lies.
While geopolitical risk could hamper the rouble, the currency was buoyed by other factors.
FX sales by Russian firms including oil major Lukoil , which is accumulating cash for dividend payments, should buttress the rouble.
“For the week we will likely see the dollar-rouble pair go below the 80 mark,” said Promsvyazbank analyst Egor Zhilnikov. “The main support for the rouble could come from Lukoil’s market activity on the backdrop of the company’s dividend payments.”
Russian rouble steadies near 81 vs dollar
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was up 1.8% at $77.48 a barrel.
Saudi Arabia on Sunday pledged a deep cut to its output in July on top of a broader OPEC+ deal to limit supply into 2024 as the group seeks to boost flagging oil prices. Russian stock indexes were higher.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.2% to 1,053.5 points.
The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.2% higher at 2,723.5 points.
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