MOSCOW: The Russian rouble weakened against the US dollar and euro on Monday, dragged down by lower global prices for oil, Russia’s main export commodity. At 0800 GMT, the rouble was down 0.5% at 91.05 to the dollar, LSEG data showed.
The rouble also lost support from foreign currency sales by exporting companies, which had been buying roubles to pay their taxes on Aug. 28.
Trading in major currencies in Russia shifted to the over-the-counter (OTC) market, obscuring price data, after Western sanctions on the Moscow Exchange and its clearing agent, the National Clearing Centre, were introduced on June 12.
The rouble was 0.5% lower at 12.09 against the Chinese yuan, which has become the most-traded foreign currency in Moscow’s stock exchange trade, but it strengthened by 1.2% against the yuan in the OTC market, according to LSEG data.
The spreads between yuan rates in the OTC market and the stock exchange have been volatile in recent weeks, reflecting ongoing problems in international transactions with the Chinese currency that have hampered trade between the two countries.
Russian rouble mostly unchanged against US dollar
One-day rouble-dollar futures, which trade on the Moscow Exchange and are a guide for OTC market rates, were up 0.3% at 91.27. The central bank’s official exchange rate, which it calculates using OTC data, was set at 91.19 to the dollar.
The rouble was 0.5% lower at 100.75 against the euro, LSEG data showed.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was down 0.3% at $76.64 on expectations for higher production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) and on signs of sluggish demand in China and the US, the world’s two largest oil consumers.
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