MOSCOW: The Russian rouble opened up on Tuesday, helped by stable oil prices and low demand for forex by exporters ahead of tax payments.
At 0740 GMT, the rouble was 0.24% stronger against the dollar at 92.16 and had lost 0.05% to trade at 100 versus the euro. It had firmed 0.16% against the yuan to 12.74.
The Russian currency on Monday hit a one-week high, as markets opened for the first time since the latest round of Western sanctions were imposed on Moscow.
In a note, Bogdan Zvarich, chief analyst at the banki.ru online marketplace, said that stable oil prices and seasonal demand for roubles by exporters to make tax payments was keeping the rouble strong. “As a result, the American currency may retreat below 92 roubles during trading,” he said.
The rouble should be at least temporarily buttressed by month-end tax payments that usually see exporters convert foreign exchange revenues to meet local liabilities.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was up 0.41% at $82.87 a barrel. Russia on Tuesday banned gasoline exports for six months from March 1, due to shortages and high domestic prices.
Russian stock indexes were up on Tuesday.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.23% to 1,100 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.20% higher at 3,219 points.
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