MOSCOW: The Russian rouble opened stronger on Monday, the first trading day of 2021, helped by rising oil prices, while the rouble-based MOEX Russian index has reached an all-time high.

At 0705 GMT, the rouble was 0.7% stronger against the dollar at 73.82 and had gained 1.1% to trade at 90.50 versus the euro.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 2.36% at $53.02 a barrel on expectations that OPEC and allied producers may cap output at current levels in February as the pandemic keeps worries about first-half demand elevated.

In 2021, the rouble is expected to partly recover but will still be far from levels seen in early 2020 before the pandemic.

Russian stock indexes were also on the rise.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 2.35% to 1,420 points.

The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 1.09% higher at 3,324 points.