MOSCOW: Brent crude oil was trading 1 percent higher at almost $61 a barrel which influences on all Russian assets and rouble 0.2 percent weaker against the dollar at 62.02 but was 0.3 percent stronger at 70.03 versus the euro.
The discrepancy reflected euro weakness on concerns that a crucial meeting on Greece’s request for a loan extension could end without easing the country’s funding crisis.
Analysts said the rouble’s trajectory would continue to be determined by oil, forex sales before large rouble-denominated taxes due next week and news out of Ukraine, where the market hopes a fragile ceasefire will hold.
Russia celebrates the Defender of the Fatherland Day public holiday on Monday, meaning traders could be exposed to losses over the three-day weekend if they end the session holding long positions.
The rouble has gained around 1.5 percent against the dollar this week, helped by oil prices hitting a two-month high on Tuesday before falling back somewhat.
Added to oil prices, the question of whether a shaky truce in Ukraine can lead to a more lasting peace is likely to be a cause of volatility in Russian assets in the near future.
On Friday, Kiev accused Russia on Friday of sending more tanks and troops into eastern Ukraine, although it appeared that fighting had died down along much of the front line that separates pro-Russian rebels and government forces.
Moscow-listed shares also saw minor moves on Friday, with the rouble’s moves largely dictating the direction of the two major indexes.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.2 percent to 909 points, while its rouble-based peer MICEX traded 0.4 percent lower at 1,790 points.
In London, the global depositary receipts of Russian oilfield services company Eurasia Drilling slumped over 12 percent after the company said it was delaying a deal to sell a stake in the company to oil services giant Schlumberger while it waited for approval from a Russian regulator.
