The rouble steadied on Monday, recovering slightly after domestic political concerns and risk-off sentiment pushed the Russian currency to a more than 15-month low against the dollar late last week.
At 0721 GMT, the rouble was 0.2% stronger against the dollar at 89.39 and had gained 0.6% to trade at 97.27 versus the euro. It had firmed 0.3% against the yuan to 12.30.
Capital controls have helped insulate the rouble against geopolitics in the 16 months since Russia invaded Ukraine, but mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s aborted march toward Moscow on June 24 reverberated through markets and raised questions about President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power.
Russian rouble weakens as exporters pay month-end taxes
“The rouble is trying to correctively strengthen,” said Alor Broker in a note, expecting traders to lock in profits after the currency slid more than 5% last week.
The rouble lost more than 9% in June and is down around 20% so far this year, one of the world’s worst performers.
Russia’s currency is unlikely to find much room to strengthen over the coming 12 months, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, with analysts and economists expecting the Bank of Russia to raise interest rates in July and again later in the year as inflationary pressure intensifies.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was down 0.3% at $75.20 a barrel.
Russian stock indexes were mixed.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.3% to 986.1 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was unchanged at 2,797.2 points.
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