UPDATE 1-Russian rouble soars to strongest since late March against dollar

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
(Updates prices, adds Bank St Petersburg comment) By Alexander Marrow May 5 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble soared on Friday, at one point gaining more than 2% on the day as it climbed to its highest against the dollar in more than a month, ahead of a long weekend in Russia and as oil prices staged a partial recovery.


By 0909 GMT, the rouble was 1.8% stronger against the dollar at 76.68 , earlier touching 76.2550, its strongest point since March 24.


It had gained 1.8% to trade at 84.65 versus the euro . It had firmed 1.7% against the yuan to 11.09 .


The rouble has been strengthening for six sessions. It may weaken ahead of the long weekend should demand for dollars rise towards the evening, said Alor Broker's Alexei Antonov. Russia celebrates Victory Day on May 9.


Brent crude oil , a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 1.6% at $73.66 a barrel, but looks set to close the week down about 8% after dramatic drops on fears of a weakening U.S. economy and slowing Chinese demand.


The rouble strengthened sharply after the central bank held interest rates steady on Friday, but retained the prospect of future hikes. The Russian currency has also benefited from a lag from high oil prices throughout April, which translates to higher export revenues for Russian exporters. The finance ministry said it would reduce its daily sales of China's yuan in the coming month, which may have given the rouble additional support, said Bank St Petersburg analysts.


Russian stock indexes were higher. The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 2.7% to 1,045.8 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.8% higher at 2,545.1 points, up from a more than three-week low hit on Thursday.
For Russian equities guide see For Russian treasury bonds see (Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Alexander Smith, Robert Birsel)

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