MOSCOW: The Russian rouble slid on Wednesday to its weakest level since late June, hurt by pressure from dividend payments and fading optimism over the G20 summit, while the benchmark MOEX stock index climbed to a record high.
At 0736 GMT, the rouble was 0.4% weaker against the dollar at 63.57, a level last seen on June 21. Against the euro, the rouble lost 0.3% to trade at 71.66.
"The pressure on rouble at the beginning of the month will be higher due to the likely conversion of part of dividend payments into (foreign) currency," Otkritie Broker's analyst Andrei Kochetkov said.
Shareholders who get dividend payments tend to convert the rouble they receive into other currencies, such as the dollar or the euro.
On Wednesday, the finance ministry will disclose its monthly FX purchasing plan. It will also offer 20 billion roubles ($314.71 million) worth of rouble-denominated bonds maturing in 2034 at its weekly auction.
Demand for such bonds usually prompts players to convert dollars to take part in auctions and, so far this year, has been driven by expectations that Russia will cut its interest rates.
The central bank's governor, Elvira Nabiullina, confirmed expectations of further cuts in an interview with Reuters, saying the bank aimed to complete its easing cycle by mid-2020.
Russian stock indexes were mixed, pricing an overnight drop in prices for oil, Russia's key exports. Brent crude oil was up 0.1% at $62.47 a barrel after plunging more than 4% on Tuesday to as low as $62.22.
The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.3% higher at 2,817.9 points after touching a record high of 2,818.6. Its dollar-denominated peer RTS was down 0.1% to 1,396.3 points.
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