MOSCOW: The Russian rouble strengthened against the US dollar on Wednesday, regaining ground after a fall in the previous session, helped by higher prices for oil, Russia’s main export commodity, due to Middle East tensions.

At 0800 GMT, the rouble was up 1.5% at 94.40 against the dollar, according to indicative LSEG data.

The rouble lost over 3% against the dollar on Oct. 1, according to the data. Traders said that the closure of foreign currency positions ahead of an escalation in Middle East tensions had also helped the Russian currency. The rouble weakened 0.4% to 13.35 against China’s yuan in trade on the Moscow Stock Exchange.

The rouble lost over 10% against yuan in September and remains near its lowest level for a year against the Chinese currency.

One of the factors behind the rouble’s weakness was the historic low daily sales of the Chinese currency by the state in September, which contributed to a yuan liquidity crunch.

The finance ministry is due to announce new parameters on Oct. 3.

Russian rouble down vs US dollar after September weakness

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 0.37% to 94.34.

The central bank’s official exchange rate, which it calculates using OTC data, was set at 93.36 to the dollar. The rouble was up 1.37% at 104.64 against the euro , LSEG data showed. Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was up 1% at $75.24.