Russian rouble steadies, buoyed by capital controls, high oil prices

The Russian currency has rebounded from more than 100 to the dollar, thanks to reduced capital outflows since President Vladimir Putin introduced the forced conversion of some foreign currency revenue for exporters in October. The rouble has managed to strengthen since a favourable month-end tax period expired on Tuesday.

The Russian rouble hovered near the 88.5 mark against the dollar on Thursday, not far from the multi-month high hit last week, buoyed by capital controls introduced last month and high oil prices. At 0742 GMT, the rouble was steady against the dollar at 88.52 and had gained 0.3% to 97.06 versus the euro. It firmed 0.2% against the yuan to 12.39 .

The rouble strengthened sharply in the previous session, pulling away from an over one-week low and is back on track to record an eighth week of gains. The Russian currency has rebounded from more than 100 to the dollar, thanks to reduced capital outflows since President Vladimir Putin introduced the forced conversion of some foreign currency revenue for exporters in October.

The rouble has managed to strengthen since a favourable month-end tax period expired on Tuesday. "This indicates that the measures taken by the authorities to support the Russian currency are working," said Alor Broker's Alexei Antonov.

High oil prices and the prospect of more monetary tightening are supporting the rouble, too. The Bank of Russia, which meets on Dec. 15, raised rates to 15% in late October and has signalled that another increase may be needed. Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 0.2% at $83.23 a barrel.

Russian stock indexes were lower. The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.2% to 1,126.0 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.3% lower at 3,163.2 points.

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