The U.S. dollar fell as authorities stepped in to cap the fallout from the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank , with investors hoping the Federal Reserve will take a less aggressive monetary path. By 1427 GMT, the rouble was 1.4% stronger against the dollar at 75.53 , hitting a near two-week high.
It had gained 0.8% to trade at 80.34 versus the euro and had firmed 0.5% against the yuan to 10.91 . "The dollar is weakening on rising expectations that problems in the U.S. banking system may halt the Federal Reserve's tightening cycle," said Andrei Kochetkov of Otkritie.
The rouble was at its strongest against the dollar in almost a week. A drop in oil prices late last week and data detailing Russia's shrinking current account surplus had put pressure on the currency.
"The key event of the week is Friday's central bank rate decision, where we do not expect (the rate) to change, with the hawkish rhetoric to remain," said Dmitry Polevoy, head of investment at Locko-Invest. Analysts polled by Reuters widely expect the bank to hold its key interest rate at 7.5% before possibly hiking the cost of borrowing later this year.
Brent crude oil , a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 2.4% at $80.8 a barrel, earlier clipping a more than two-month low. Russian stock indexes were mixed. The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.5% to 947.7 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.8% higher at 2,258.4 points. For Russian equities guide see For Russian treasury bonds see (Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alex Richardson)
