Rouble firms on virus lull, Rosneft rebounds after U.S. sanctions

• The rouble was 0.2pc stronger against the dollar at 63.69 and was up 0.1pc against the euro to trade at 68.76.
• The rouble reached 64.20 versus the greenback following the announcement before paring losses.
• The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.8pc to 1,527.8 points.

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble firmed on Wednesday as a lull in the number of new coronavirus cases in China eased investor worries about the epidemic and sustained global risk sentiment.

At 0813 GMT, the rouble was 0.2pc stronger against the dollar at 63.69 and was up 0.1pc against the euro to trade at 68.76.

China's National Health Commission reported that Tuesday had seen the lowest daily rise in new coronavirus infections since Jan. 29, soothing global market concerns, although the world's second-largest economy faces a challenge in getting its manufacturing sector back on track.

The rouble also regained ground lost on Tuesday when the United States imposed sanctions on Rosneft Trading SA, the Geneva-based trading unit of Russian oil major Rosneft.

The rouble reached 64.20 versus the greenback following the announcement before paring losses.

Shares in Rosneft dropped to a 10-week low on Tuesday before rising back and on Wednesday were up 1.4pc after announcing a fourth-quarter net profit of 158 billion roubles  ($2.48 billion).

"We believe the theme of geopolitics will continue to worry the rouble, but at the moment we do not see the conditions for a steady exceeding of the 64.00 mark versus the dollar," Rosbank analysts said in a note.

Rosbank said current uncertainty will likely continue until Russia's month-end tax period, which prompts export-focused companies to convert their foreign currency revenues to meet local liabilities, giving domestic support to the rouble.

The market will also focus on Wednesday on the Finance Ministry's placement of three OFZ treasury bonds, which usually prompt foreign investors to buy Russia's currency.

Russian stock indexes were up, also paring Tuesday's losses after "diving significantly in the evening due to new U.S. sanctions", VTB Capital analyst Ilya Piterskiy said in a note.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.8pc to 1,527.8 points.

The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.5pc higher at 3,088.2 points.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 0.9pc at $58.2 a barrel.