Russian rouble weakens against U.S. dollar

The Russian rouble weakened against the dollar on Thursday, sliding past the 91.5 mark and hovering near its lowest point since mid-January, hampered by local demand for foreign currency amid low trading activity.

At 0812 GMT, the rouble was 0.2% weaker against the dollar at 91.57 and had lost 0.3% to trade at 98.19 versus the euro. It had shed 0.2% against the yuan to 12.61.

The rouble has lost some support this month as the state slightly reduced its daily FX sales.

Month-end tax payments usually support the currency as exporters convert foreign currency revenues to pay local liabilities.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.5% at $81.18 a barrel.

Russian stock indexes were lower.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.6% to 1,116.2 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.4% lower at 3,244.9 points.