Russian rouble firms past 74 vs dollar, stocks up

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpReuters – The Russian rouble firmed past 74 to the dollar in Moscow trade on Friday, helped by companies preparing to pay large sums in taxes, while stocks indexes inched higher.p

pAt 0729 GMT, the rouble was 1.7 stronger against the dollar at 73.58 and had gained 1.4 to trade at 79.05 versus the euro on Moscow Exchange.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

pThe rouble has fully recouped losses it suffered after Russia started what it calls “a special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 24.p

pBut moves in the once freefloating rouble are somewhat artificial after Russia imposed capital controls to support the currency. On the interbank market, the rouble was weaker: banks offered to buy dollars for 78.61 roubles and were selling them for 79.25.p

pCentral Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said Russia was looking at adjustments to its foreign exchange controls to avoid situations where the rouble exchange rate deviates on a shadow market from official levels. p

pAs she begins her new fiveyear stint in charge of monetary policy, Nabiullina will have to deal with a fullscale economic crisis, tackling unprecedented uncertainty stemming from Western sanctions.p

pThe rouble is supported by a record 3 trillion roubles 39.22 billion that companies are due to pay in taxes this month, according to analysts surveyed by Reuters. To make the payments, some exportfocused firms need to sell foreign currency.p

pThis creates an imbalance in the market as trading volumes remain low, as does demand for foreign currency from importers. p

pRussian stock indexes were up but lacked momentum and new trading ideas.p

pThe dollardenominated RTS index was 1.1 higher at 972.3 points. The roublebased MOEX Russian index rose 0.5 to 2,281.2 points.p

pFor Russian equities guide seep

pFor Russian treasury bonds seep

p1 76.5000 roublesp

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pp Reporting by Reuters Editing by Robert Birselp

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