Russian rouble steadies, buffeted by sanctions headwinds before long weekend

The Russian rouble firmed marginally on Thursday, trading in the 92-93 range against the dollar where it has spent most of this week, facing sanctions headwinds with the Russian market set to embark on a long weekend due to a national holiday. At 0757 GMT, the rouble was 0.1% stronger against the dollar at 92.46 and had lost 0.3% versus the euro to trade at 100.29. Traders may opt to hedge rouble positions by buying foreign currency ahead of the long weekend in Russia, said Alor Broker's Alexei Antonov.