The Russian rouble opened weaker against the dollar on Monday, with traders expecting little activity and low liquidity because of the long weekend in the United States.
At 0730 GMT, the rouble was 0.3% weaker against the dollar at 96.42. It was flat versus the euro at 104.15 and against the yuan at 13.26.
While supported by a strong oil price, the rouble has been under downward pressure from geopolitical risks as well as a declining current account surplus and a fall in the supply of export earnings after the payment of monthly taxes.
Traders said pressure on the rouble may also come from the execution by regional banks of packaged client orders accumulated over the weekend for the purchase of foreign currency.
"We expect a continuation of the gradual depreciation of the rouble. Statements made last week by the heads of the central bank and the finance ministry about their intention to support the Russian currency had only a short-term impact on the market," ALOR Broker said in a note.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was little changed at $88.51 a barrel. Russia has said it will announce details this week of a new agreement with OPEC+ partners to reduce the export of oil.
Russian stock indexes were firm in early trade.
The dollar-denominated RTS was up 0.5% to 1,060 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.5% higher at 3,248 points.
Financial marketplace banki.ru said in a commentary that the MOEX had support around 3,200 and looked set to press higher towards 3,400 on the back of positive sentiment on foreign stock markets and the high level of oil.
