The ruble weakened on Wednesday, dragged down by a renewed decline in the oil price following a short-lived rally that had helped the Russian currency firm on Tuesday.
At 0830 GMT, the ruble was 0.3 percent weaker against the dollar at 47.07 and 0.6 percent weaker against the euro at 59.04.
On Wednesday oil benchmark Brent was down slightly at around $78.3, softening after a brief rally earlier in the week, with all eyes on an OPEC meeting next week.
The ruble is expected to gain support during the coming days from the monthly tax period requiring exporters to convert foreign currency into rubles.
However, low forex market turnover of $3.6 billion on Tuesday indicated that exporters are not yet selling significant amounts, VTB Capital analyst Maxim Korovin said in a note.
Alfa Bank analyst Natalia Orlova said in a note that a decision by the Central Bank to limit its provision of ruble liquidity was positive for the Russian currency. On Tuesday the bank had provided 2.7 trillion rubles ($57 billion) at a weekly repo auction, below the 3.1 trillion demanded by banks.
"We ... welcome the CBR's actions and believe that limiting the supply of ruble liquidity is a more effective way to stabilize the FX market versus a rate hike per se," Orlova said, predicting that the measure would help the ruble appreciate to 41 against the dollar by year-end.
Russian stocks were mixed, with the weaker oil price and ruble weighing on the dollar-based RTS stock index. The RTS was down 0.4 percent at 1,017 points while the ruble-based MICEX index was flat at 1,520.
Shares in potash producer Uralkali were down 6 percent on Wednesday, following its announcement on Tuesday that it had been forced to evacuate a major mine in the Perm region because of a brine inflow.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
