At 0718 GMT, the rouble was 0.2% weaker against the dollar at 75.97 and had lost 0.2% to trade at 80.39 per euro . It had shed 0.3% against the yuan to 10.88 . The finance ministry this week decreased its daily foreign exchange sales, in China's yuan, to 5.4 billion roubles ($71.15 million) for the upcoming month, down from 8.9 billion roubles, which should reduce support for the rouble. The yuan's share in Russia's import settlements in 2022 jumped to 23% from 4%, Russia's central bank said on Thursday, also noting a rise in the Chinese currency's share in exchange trading in February. Brent crude oil , a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.7% at $81.10 a barrel. Lower oil prices and the lack of extra support from Russian exporters for the rouble could see the Russian currency weaken past 76 per dollar going into the weekend, said Bogdan Zvarich, Banki.ru chief analyst.
Investors were also keeping an eye on the U.S. jobs report on Friday and its impact on the policy of the Federal Reserve, which this week warned of higher and potentially faster rate hikes.
Russian stock indexes were lower. The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.8% at 943.4 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.7% lower at 2,275.0 points. For Russian equities guide see For Russian treasury bonds see ($1 = 75.9000 roubles) (Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Bradley Perrett)
