MOSCOW, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble weakened
against the U.S. dollar and China's yuan on Friday, after
strengthening sharply in the two previous sessions.
At 0850 GMT, the rouble was down 0.4% to 97.10 against the
dollar, according to data from the over-the-counter market. The
rouble weakened 0.3% to 13.29 against China's yuan on the Moscow
Stock Exchange (MOEX).
The rouble has strengthened by 12% against the dollar so far
this year, despite new U.S. energy sanctions, on expectations of
easing tensions in the longer term between Russia and the United
States as well as lower demand for foreign currency from
importers.
The rouble strengthened by about 3% in the sessions on
February 5 and February 6 on news about possible talks between
Russia and the United States on resolving the Ukraine conflict.
The last time the rouble traded around 97.00 to the dollar
in a sustainable way was in October 2024. On February 6, the
rouble hit its strongest level against the yuan since September
16, 2024.
The rouble also received support from increased sales of
the Chinese yuan by the central bank. The regulator intervenes
on the forex market to ensure there is enough liquidity.
One-day dollar/rouble futures, which trade on MOEX and serve
as a guide for the over-the-counter exchange rate, were flat at
99.00. The Russian central bank set the official exchange rate
at 96.91.