MOSCOW, July 17 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble

strengthened slightly against the dollar on Wednesday, but

currency trading remains subdued.

By 0750 GMT, the rouble was 0.6% higher at 87.90

against the dollar.

Sanctions on Moscow Exchange and its clearing

agent, the National Clearing Centre (NCC), led to a range of

varying prices and spreads as trading shifted to the

over-the-counter (OTC) market on June 14, obscuring access to

reliable pricing for the Russian currency.

In a report published on Tuesday, the central bank noted

that delays in international payments for goods imported to

Russia, due to Western sanctions, were a factor behind the

rouble's strengthening in June.

Against the yuan, which had already become the most traded

foreign currency in Moscow before the latest sanctions were

imposed, the rouble was flat at 12.05, according to an analysis

of the OTC market.

The central bank said on Tuesday that demand for its yuan

swaps fell to zero after it raised interest rates on this

instrument by 2 percentage points. The regulator stated that

this move should limit its influence on the yuan exchange rate.

The rouble was also flat against the euro at 96.34

.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's

main export, was down 0.2% at $83.58 a barrel hovering near a

one-month low hit in the prior session on signs of weakening

demand in China.