The rouble hovered near 80 against the dollar on Monday as exporters paid monthly taxes, marking the loss of a support factor that could open the door to rouble weakening as local demand for foreign currency lingers.

At 0715 GMT, the rouble was 0.1% stronger against the dollar at 80.00 and had lost 0.3% to trade at 85.94 versus the euro. It had firmed 0.1% against the yuan to 11.29.

Month-end tax payments, which usually lead exporters to convert foreign currency revenue to meet local liabilities, should provide the rouble with some support.

Those taxes are due today, although some foreign currency selling may be limited due to holidays in the United States and United Kingdom.

Local demand for foreign currency is also hurting the rouble, as Russian importers shift supplies to the east from the west and new trading patterns emerge.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 0.7% at $77.50 a barrel.

The relatively stable situation on energy markets should allow the rouble to hold its position around 80 to the dollar, even as the tax payments period ends, said Bogdan Zvarich, chief analyst at Banki.ru.

Russian stock indexes were higher, with the rouble-based MOEX index hitting its highest since April 5, 2022, up 0.8% on the day to 2,704.2 points.

Progress on the U.S. debt ceiling deal should boost risk appetite this week, boosting commodity prices that benefit Russian stocks, Sinara Investment Bank said in a note.

Russian firms announcing dividend payments is also driving the market, which should grow higher unless geopolitics intervenes, Sinara added.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.9% to 1,064.8 points.

Shares in developer Samolet traded around 7% higher after the company announced a share buyback of up to 10 billion roubles ($128.7 million).

 

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($1 = 77.7205 roubles) (Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Christopher Cushing)