MOSCOW: The Russian rouble was trading around its lowest level against the dollar in over a year on Friday, hovering near the 100 mark, with the greenback strong against all major peers following the US election.
By 0800 GMT, the rouble was down 0.7% at 100.2 against the dollar, after briefly hitting 100.7 on Thursday, its weakest since October 2023.
It was down 0.9% against the euro at 105.81, according to LSEG data. The rouble weakened by 0.7% against the yuan to 13.81 in trade on the Moscow stock exchange.
The dollar was near a one-year high against a basket of currencies and was eyeing a weekly gain of 1.76%, which would mark its best performance since September.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was down 1.4% at $71.52 a barrel on weak demand from China, also putting pressure on the Russian currency.
Western sanctions imposed on the Moscow 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 and making the rouble’s exchange rate more volatile.
One-day rouble-dollar futures, which trade on the Moscow exchange and are a guide for OTC market rates, were up 0.6% at 99.85.
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