The Russian rouble remained largely flat against the U.S. dollar while slightly weakening against China’s yuan in limited trading on Friday.
As of 11:00 GMT, the rouble stood unchanged at 97.40 against the dollar but slipped 0.2% to 13.55 against the yuan, according to LSEG data. Against the euro, the rouble weakened by 0.4% to 106.40.
Brent crude, a global benchmark for Russia’s key oil exports, saw a 2% rise to $74.53 per barrel following reports of a potential retaliatory strike by Iran on Israel.
Due to Western sanctions imposed on the Moscow Stock Exchange (MOEX) and its clearing partner, the National Clearing Centre, in June, the trading of U.S. dollars and euros on the exchange has been halted. This shift has made the yuan the most actively traded foreign currency in Russia. Dollar and euro trades have since moved to the over-the-counter (OTC) market, limiting transparency on pricing data.
One-day rouble-dollar futures on the Moscow exchange, which offer an indication of OTC rates, rose 0.8% to 97.51. The Bank of Russia, which calculates its official exchange rate based on OTC trades, set the rouble at 97.02 to the dollar.
