The Russian rouble firmed in early trade on Friday after what market players say was an unusual bout of weakness late on Thursday that was possibly linked to a large one-off transaction.

At 0739 GMT, the rouble was 0.5% stronger against the dollar at 94.53, having hit 94.99 on Thursday, its weakest since March 28, 2022.

It had gained 0.3% to trade at 103.54 versus the euro.

It was virtually unchanged against the yuan at 13.12.

Russia’s finance ministry said on Thursday it was switching to foreign currency purchases this month in line with its fiscal rule.

Some market players had hoped it would suspend the rule to help support the rouble.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was up 0.3% at $85.43 a barrel.