Before two Treasury bond auctions by the Ministry of Finance, the Russian ruble strengthened to a one-month high against the dollar.

At 0742 GMT, the ruble was 0.1% stronger against the dollar at 90.40, its strongest since February 6. The ruble gained 0.5% to trade at 98.21 against the euro and strengthened by 0.4% against the yuan to 12.51. The Russian currency has now lost the support of month-end tax payments, which usually allow exporters to convert earnings into foreign currency to meet their local obligations.

According to Alexei Antonov of Alor Broker, “the dollar-ruble pair is heading towards the lower end of the 90-92.5 range, but it is unlikely to consolidate below this support, given the approach of the long weekend.”