MOSCOW: The Russian rouble firmed against the dollar on Monday amid higher appetite for risky assets as the United States and China came closer to a trade deal.
A formal agreement between Washington and Beijing could be reached at a summit later this month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
"Hopes for the rapid conclusion of a (U.S.-China) deal support the main group of risky assets," said Mikhail Poddubsky, an analyst with Promsvyazbank, referring to emerging markets.
At 0742 GMT, the rouble was 0.23 percent stronger against the dollar at 65.79 and had gained 0.17 percent to trade at 74.75 versus the euro.
Oil prices also rose on hopes of a trade deal. Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 0.31 percent at $65.27 a barrel.
The market is awaiting the Russian finance ministry's announcement on Tuesday of the amount of forex purchases for state reserves in the next month.
Poddubsky of Promsvyazbank said that the amount of buying could increase as oil prices are higher. He added, however, that there would not be much pressure on the rouble because of the seasonally strong current account.
Russian stock indexes were slightly up.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.05 percent to 1,187.53 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.12 percent higher at 2,480.76 points.
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