MOSCOW, April 21 ― The Russian rouble weakened slightly today, with lower oil prices blunting the impact of upcoming month-end tax payments that usually benefit the Russian currency.

At 0715 GMT, the rouble was 0.2 per cent weaker against the dollar at 81.70 and was unchanged, trading at 89.53 versus the euro. It had shed 0.1 per cent against the yuan to 11.83.

The rouble should get a delayed boost from this month's higher oil prices, which translate into higher export revenues.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, jumped to 2-1/2-month highs after Opec announced surprise supply target cuts in early April.

But Brent has sharply dropped in recent sessions, down 0.6 per cent today to US$80.6 (RM357.71) a barrel, its weakest mark since May 31.

The rouble is expected to gain support from month-end tax payments that usually lead exporters to convert foreign currency revenues to meet local liabilities. Those taxes are due on April 28.

Russian stock indexes were mixed.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.1 per cent at 1,018.2 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.2 per cent higher at 2,641.2 points, hitting a more than one-year high. ― Reuters