MOSCOW: The Russian rouble firmed on Friday, buoyed by rising oil prices after a late sell-off on Thursday over media reports suggesting that western nations were considering additional sanctions against Moscow. At 1410 GMT the rouble was up 0.6% against the dollar at 74.25, having touched its lowest mark since Feb. 22 in the previous session.

Against the euro, the rouble gained 0.9% to 88.62. Russian stocks were paring early losses, with the dollar-denominated RTS index steady at 1,454.0 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index gained 0.8% to 3,425.6 points.