MOSCOW: The Russian rouble gained on Wednesday as oil prices rose and the dollar weakened globally, while the benchmark stock index MOEX neared record highs.
At 0742 GMT, the rouble was 0.1 percent stronger against the dollar at 65.45 but shed 0.2 percent to trade at 75.75 versus the euro as the European currency recovered from six-week lows versus the dollar.
The rouble enjoys support from higher oil prices. Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 0.21 percent at $84.98 a barrel, trading at levels last seen in 2014.
The finance ministry is set to hold auctions of treasury bonds for the first time in around a month. It suspended weekly OFZ auctions in early September because of growing market volatility and rouble losses, amid concern about more US sanctions against Russia.
Since then, the rouble has bounced back from 70.60 versus the dollar it hit in September, its weakest in more than two years. It hasn't yet recovered to the levels of 62-63 seen before the sell-off, which began in early August.
"The fact of the resumption of auctions itself is already perceived positively as another proof that the market situation is stabilising," analysts at Rosbank said in a note.
The finance ministry on Wednesday is also set to disclose its reserves fulfilling plan for the next month, but that should have no impact on the currency market for now, a Reuters survey showed earlier this week.
Russian stock indexes were up.
The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.49 percent higher at 2,461.82 points, heading towards the record high of 2,493.82 it hit last week. The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.24 percent to 1,184.55 points.
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