MOSCOW, Oct 30 (Reuters) –The Russian rouble strengthened slightly against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday but remained steady against China’s yuan and the euro in thin trade, following the end of the tax payment period when exporters convert foreign currency into roubles.
At 0730 GMT, the rouble RUB= was up 0.3% at 96.80 against the dollar. It was flat at 13.44 against the yuan CNYRUB= and 105.46 against the euro EURRUB=.
Brent crude oil LCOc1, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was around one-month lows, after sliding in the previous two sessions.
Western sanctions imposed on the Moscow Stock Exchange (MOEX) and its clearing agent, the National Clearing Centre, on June 12 stopped all trade in dollars and euros at MOEX, making the yuan the most-traded foreign currency in Russia.
Trade in dollars and euros has shifted to the over-the-counter (OTC) market, obscuring price data.
One-day rouble-dollar futures, which trade on the Moscow exchange and are a guide for OTC market rates, were up 0.3% at 97.5. The central bank’s official exchange rate, which it calculates using OTC data, was set at 97.33 to the dollar.
Reporting by Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Neil Fullick
