MOSCOW: The Russian rouble weakened slightly against the dollar on Monday, stabilising after a roughly 9% fall that began on the day Ukraine launched its biggest attack on Russian territory since the start of the war.

By 0730 GMT, the rouble was 0.2% weaker at 89.65 to the dollar, according to LSEG data.

It was still more than 5% weaker compared with the rate before the attack.

“After a brief period of turbulence, the rouble has returned to more familiar exchange rate levels,” said Zenit bank analyst Vladimir Evstifeev.

Trading in major currencies shifted to the over-the-counter (OTC) market, obscuring pricing data, after Western sanctions on the Moscow Exchange and its clearing agent, the National Clearing Centre, were introduced on June 12.

Russian rouble flat against dollar

One-day rouble-dollar futures, which trade on the Moscow Exchange and serve as guidance for the OTC market rates, were 0.1% weaker at 88.71.

The central bank’s official exchange rate, which it calculates using OTC data, was set at 88.81 to the dollar.

According to an analysis of the OTC market, the rouble weakened by 0.7% to 12.12 against the Chinese yuan, which has become the most-traded foreign currency in Moscow.

It was down 0.7% at 99.05 against the euro, according to LSEG data.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was down 0.3% at $79.47 a barrel as fears of weaker demand in top oil importer China weighed on market sentiment.