MOSCOW: The rouble opened stronger on Tuesday, supported by higher oil prices and progress in talks on Russia's gas supplies to Ukraine, but investors remained concerned by the recent assassination of a prominent Russian opposition leader.
At 0735 GMT, the rouble was around 0.4 percent stronger against the dollar at 62.37 and gained 0.3 percent to trade at 69.81 versus the euro.
Oil, Russia's main export, traded around $1 higher, with Brent staying above $60 per barrel.
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to discuss a "summer package" of gas supplies late this month, with Kiev winning an assurance at Monday's EU-mediated talks in Brussels that it would not pay for energy delivered to rebel-held areas.
Analysts say that the progress has removed one of the obstacles on the path to the rouble's firming.
"Gas talks in a trilateral format took place in a peaceful atmosphere and proved to be rather effective," said in a note Alyona Afanasyeva, a senior analyst at Forex Club investment house in Moscow.
But she added that politics will weigh on the Russian currency.
"Undoubtedly, the murder of a leader of the Russian opposition, such a dramatic one, has led investors to fear a new wave of tensions with the West," she said.
Boris Nemtsov, a Kremlin critic who was shot late dead on Friday, is to be buried on Tuesday with thousands expected to attend.
Russian stocks traded sideways, with the dollar-denominated RTS index down 0.3 percent to 901 points and the rouble-based MICEX virtually unchanged at 1783 points.
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