Rouble slips amid dividend flow from exporters
- The rouble was 0.4pc weaker against the dollar at 73.43 and had lost 0.7pc to trade at 87.21 versus the euro, its weakest since late March.
MOSCOW: The Russian rouble slipped on Friday against a weakened US dollar as dividend season prompted some investors to convert their rouble payouts into foreign currency.
At 0800 GMT, the rouble was 0.4pc weaker against the dollar at 73.43 and had lost 0.7pc to trade at 87.21 versus the euro, its weakest since late March.
"We believe that the rouble's underperformance in recent weeks ... largely reflects dividend flows from major exporters," said Maxim Korovin, a strategist at VTB Capital.
"This effect could wane soon, in our view, as dividend payments this year have already passed their peak."
The rouble's downward trajectory could not be offset by rising oil prices.
Oil prices recovered on Friday after having touched three-week lows in the previous session in response to a record decline in US growth as the coronavirus ravaged the world's biggest economy and oil consumer.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 1pc at $43.41 a barrel by 0749 GMT.
Russian stock indexes were trading higher.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 1.4pc to 1,247.5 points.
The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 1pc higher at 2,912.9 points.