MOSCOW
\nThe rouble edged past 75 to the dollar on Tuesday, touching its strongest level in nearly four weeks after the leaders of Russia and France held talks, with investors looking for signs of de-escalation in Moscow\u2019s standoff with the West over Ukraine.
\nPresident Vladimir Putin said his first Moscow summit with a Western leader since Russia began massing troops near its neighbour had been substantive, while French President Emmanuel Macron said the coming days would be crucial. read more
\nBut the Kremlin denied on Tuesday that Putin had promised Macron that Russia would stage no further manoeuvres near Ukraine for now, pouring cold water on a tentative French assertion of diplomatic progress. read more
\nBy 1220 GMT, the rouble was 0.5% stronger against the dollar at 75.09 , earlier touching 74.99, its strongest level since Jan. 13.
\nThe rouble may try to test the 73-75 range against the greenback, Promsvyazbank analysts said.
\nThe currency had gained 0.6% to trade at 85.79 versus the euro , also clipping its strongest since Jan. 13 earlier in the session.
\nThe rouble has moved away from a near 15-month low of 80.4125 hit last month when Western powers threatened to impose more sanctions if Russia invaded Ukraine. The Kremlin has denied having any such plans.
\n\u201cSevere sanctions on Russia could have negative rating implications for the sovereign and banks,\u201d Fitch Ratings said in a note. Though it does not anticipate a full-scale invasion, Fitch said tensions over Ukraine have increased the risk of conflict and more far-reaching sanctions.
\nBut evidence of diplomacy was giving investors cause for positivity.
\n\u201cThere are signs of optimism regarding Russian geopolitical risk perception this week,\u201d said Alfa Bank, pointing to the Macron-Putin meeting and Macron\u2019s talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday.
\nTraders are also looking ahead to Friday, when the Bank of Russia is widely expected to raise its key interest rate from 8.5% in its fight against stubbornly high inflation. read more
\nHigher rates support the rouble by making investment into rouble-denominated assets more attractive.
\nBrent crude oil , a global benchmark for Russia\u2019s main export, was down 2.2% at $90.67 a barrel, but not far from a more than seven-year high.
\nRussian stock indexes were higher.
\nThe dollar-denominated RTS index (.IRTS) was up 2.4% to 1,479.2 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index (.IMOEX) was 1.6% higher at 3,526.2 points.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MOSCOW The rouble edged past 75 to the dollar on Tuesday, touching its strongest level in nearly four weeks after the leaders of Russia and France held talks, with investors looking for signs of de-escalation in Moscow\u2019s standoff with the West over Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin said his first Moscow summit with a Western leader […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-243386","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n