Rouble edges off three-week dollar low, stocks slightly weaker

• The Russian rouble recovered slightly on Thursday after sliding to a three-week low the previous day amid concerns about the global economic outlook and a drop in oil prices.
• Oil futures were down on Thursday, reversing earlier gains, and Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export.

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble recovered slightly on Thursday after sliding to a three-week low the previous day amid concerns about the global economic outlook and a drop in oil prices.

At 0737 GMT, the rouble was 0.18pc firmer against the dollar at 65.08 as the US currency slid to fresh one-week lows against the euro and yen on fresh signs of slowing US economic growth and widening trade troubles.

The Russian currency is expected to remain in the range of 65-65.50 against the dollar in the short term, said Mikhail Poddubsky, an analyst at Promsvyazbank.

Versus the euro, the rouble gained 0.22pc to trade at 71.27 .

Oil futures were down on Thursday, reversing earlier gains, and Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.4pc at $57.52 a barrel.

Adding to concerns over global economic health, the US on Wednesday won approval to levy tariffs on $7.5 billion worth of European goods over illegal subsidies handed to Airbus, threatening to trigger a transatlantic trade war.

Russian stocks were slightly lower, with the dollar-denominated RTS index down 0.1pc to 1,312 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.2pc lower at 2,714 points.