MOSCOW: The Russian rouble weakened against the US dollar on Monday as local markets weighed the prospects of a de-escalation in the war in Ukraine following a conversation between US President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

By 0830 GMT, the rouble was 0.4% weaker against the dollar at 98.00, according to LSEG data.

On Nov. 6, the Russian currency hit a more than one-year low against the dollar, as the US currency strengthened on global markets.

The rouble was flat against China’s yuan at 13.73, and weakened 0.2% to 107.68 against the euro.

Russian rouble flat against dollar

Analysts noted an improvement with the yuan liquidity situation in November following the shortage in the recent weeks.

Western sanctions imposed on the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) and its clearing agent, the National Clearing Centre, on June 12 stopped all trade in dollars and euros at MOEX, making the yuan the most-traded foreign currency in Russia.

Trade in dollars and euros has shifted to the over-the-counter (OTC) market, obscuring price data.

Trump spoke to Putin in recent days and advised him not to escalate the Ukraine war, a source familiar with the conversation told Reuters.

One-day rouble-dollar futures, which trade on the Moscow exchange and are a guide for OTC market rates, were up 0.3% to 98.06.

The central bank’s official exchange rate, which it calculates using OTC data, was last set at 97.83 to the dollar.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was little changed at $74.05 a barrel after falling more than 2% on Nov. 8.