MOSCOW: The Russian rouble strengthened against both the US dollar and the Chinese yuan ahead of the central bank’s board meeting on Sept. 13, where the regulator is expected to maintain the benchmark interest rate at 18%.

At 0715 GMT, the rouble was up 0.4% at 12.66 against the yuan and up by 0.6% at 91.00 against the dollar, LSEG data showed.

The rouble was flat at 12.70 against the yuan in trade on the Moscow Stock Exchange.

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

One-day rouble-dollar futures, which trade on the Moscow Exchange and are a guide for OTC market rates, were up 0.2% at 90.37.

The central bank’s official exchange rate, which it calculates using OTC data, was set at 91.27 to the dollar.

Russian rouble mostly unchanged against US dollar

The rouble was flat at 100.92 against the euro, LSEG data showed.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was up 1.3% at $71.59, spurred by concerns of Hurricane Francine impacting output in the US.