Rouble steadies ahead of bond auctions, FX purchase plan

• The Russian currency hit two-month lows against the greenback on Monday due to a fall in global risk appetite following China's coronavirus outbreak.
• The rouble was flat against the dollar at 63.69 , away from its two-month low of 64.11, and was steady at 69.75 versus the euro.

MOSCOW: The rouble steadied against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday ahead of treasury bond auctions and the Russian finance ministry's foreign currency purchase plans for state reserves in February.

The Russian currency hit two-month lows against the greenback on Monday due to a fall in global risk appetite following China's coronavirus outbreak.

It firmed 1pc the next day after Beijing assuaged fears around the economic impact of the outbreak by injecting liquidity into markets.

By 0737 GMT, the rouble was flat against the dollar at 63.69 , away from its two-month low of 64.11, and was steady at 69.75 versus the euro.

The finance ministry is set to announce its purchases of foreign currency for state reserves for the month ahead later on Wednesday.

The ministry is expected to purchase less foreign currency than in the previous period, a Reuters survey of analysts found earlier this week, which could support the rouble.

The ministry will also hold two OFZ treasury bond auctions. Demand for these bonds, which has been strong in recent months, serves as a gauge of global market sentiment toward Russian assets and usually buttresses the national currency.

Prices for Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up more than 1pc on news that OPEC and its allies are considering further output cuts to counter a potential squeeze on global oil demand resulting from the coronavirus outbreak.

Russian stock indexes were down.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.3pc to 1,542.4 points, while the rouble-based MOEX Russian index  was 0.2pc lower at 3,092.4 points.