Russian rouble slides to 10-month low in light trade

The Russian rouble hit a 10-month low in sparse trading on Friday, with the Russian market partially closed to mark a national holiday, hurt by the looming spectre of more sanctions against Moscow.

At 0808 GMT, the rouble was 0.1% weaker against the dollar at 75.11, earlier sliding to 75.55, its weakest mark since April 25, 2022.

It had lost 0.1% to trade at 79.51 against the euro . It had firmed 0.5% against the yuan to 10.85 .

One year on from Russia sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, the rouble is back to levels seen before the conflict began. It tumbled to a record low in March 2022 before climbing to multi-year highs last summer, supported by capital controls, plummeting imports and soaring energy revenues.

Russia's economy proved unexpectedly resilient in the face of tough Western sanctions last year, but a return to pre-conflict levels of prosperity may be far off as more government spending is directed towards the military.

Trading volumes were minimal. The Russian market was closed on Thursday to mark Defender of the Fatherland day and open for only limited trading on Friday.

The rouble is expected to see greater demand before month-end taxes are due on Feb 28, when exporters typically convert their foreign currency revenue.

But geopolitics continues to hamper the Russian currency, with Western nations set to impose more sanctions against Moscow over its actions in Ukraine.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 1% at $83.0 a barrel.

Russian stock indexes were higher.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.1% to 930.3 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.3% higher at 2,218.5 points.