For Russian equities guide see For Russian treasury bonds see (Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Bradley Perrett and Varun H K)
(Updates prices, adds Alor Broker comment)
MOSCOW, March 24 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble gave up
most of its gains made against the U.S. dollar in the previous
session on Friday, as the promise of upcoming month-end tax
payments offered limited support amid sharply sliding oil
prices.
By 1038 GMT, the rouble was 0.9% weaker against the dollar
at 76.65 . On Thursday, it touched a more than
one-week high of 75.7125.
It gained 0.4% to trade at 82.28 versus the euro , pulling further clear of the more than 11-month
low it touched in the previous session. It shed 0.2% against the
yuan to 11.13 .
"The approaching peak of tax payments, which comes at the
start of next week and leads to growth in the supply of foreign
currency by exporters, is giving the main support to the
national currency," said Banki.ru chief analyst Bogdan Zvarich.
Brent crude oil , a global benchmark for Russia's
main export, was down 3.3% at $73.4 a barrel, heading back
towards the more than one-year low hit earlier this week.
Lower oil prices harm the rouble as they create risks of
lower foreign currency inflows from Russian exports. General
risk aversion is also at play, with geopolitical uncertainty and
Western sanctions on Russian energy exports limiting the
rouble's room to strengthen.
"Before the weekend, amid the current geopolitical tension,
there will be those who are willing to buy dollars to hedge
rouble positions," said Alexei Antonov of Alor Broker.
"However, at any time, exporters could become more active,
fearing that the rouble may be more expensive on
Monday-Tuesday."
Russian stock indexes were mixed.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.8% at
981.9 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was
unchanged at 2,389.0 points.
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