Russian rouble edges lower ahead of cenbank rate decision

March 17 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble edged lower on Friday under pressure from relatively weak oil prices, with the market focused on the central bank, which is widely expected to hold interest rates at 7.5%. At 0757 GMT, the rouble was 0.1% weaker against the dollar at 76.50 and had lost 0.3% to trade at 81.45 versus the euro . It had shed 0.3% against the yuan to 11.1 . The Russian currency had clipped near 11-month lows against the dollar, euro and yuan in the previous session.

Brent crude oil , a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 1% at $75.4 a barrel, recovering some ground from the more than one-year lows hit this week.

Russian stock indexes were higher. The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 1.3% to
939.4 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 1% higher at 2,280.7 points. The central bank will announce its rate decision at 1030 GMT and Governor Elvira Nabiullina will shed more light on monetary policy and other issues at a media conference at 1200 GMT. All 26 analysts polled by Reuters this week expect a rate hold and are focused on whether the Bank of Russia maintains or softens its hawkish rhetoric.
For Russian equities guide see For Russian treasury bonds see (Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Christina Fincher)

Reuters

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off-the-wire

Russian rouble edges lower ahead of cenbank rate decision

By Reuters

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