Rouble firms past 74 vs dollar, MOEX retreats from all-time high
- The rouble was 0.6% stronger against the dollar at 73.88. It briefly soared as high as 72.0025 on the Moscow Exchange on Friday, its strongest since late July.
MOSCOW: The rouble extended gains on Tuesday, moving past 74 against the dollar as perceptions of political risk moderated, while the benchmark MOEX stock index slid from an all-time high.
At 1030 GMT, the rouble was 0.6% stronger against the dollar at 73.88. It briefly soared as high as 72.0025 on the Moscow Exchange on Friday, its strongest since late July.
"We expect attempts from the rouble to continue a moderate strengthening ... A reassessment of geopolitical risks and high oil price levels will support the national currency," Promsvyazbank said in a note.
Other resource-oriented currencies consolidated gains on Tuesday, as a rally in commodity prices boosted their appeal, while the dollar hovered near multi-month lows versus major peers.
Versus the euro, the rouble gained 0.4% to 89.87 .
Russian assets saw some support last week from expectations that President Vladimir Putin and his counterpart in Washington Joe Biden could meet soon after the U.S. side proposed a summit in June.
Trading activity is expected to recover after the May 1-10 period that was declared a public holiday in Russia, opening the door for the rouble to advance to the 73-74 range, Locko Invest said in a note.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.9% at $67.74 a barrel but still close to 2021 highs.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 1.1% at 1,554.0 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index shed 1.4% at 3,644.5 points after rallying to its highest-ever level of 3,713.49 on Monday.
Moscow-listed GDRs in Russian lender TCS Group Holding were down 1.0%, slightly outperforming the broader market after the company reported a record first-quarter profit.
Index publisher MSCI is in focus as it will release May rebalancing results after the markets close.
Sberbank CIB said Russian online retailer OZON could be added to the MSCI Russia Standard Index, while there were no risks of a Russian company being excluded from the benchmark.
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