The Russian ruble held steady near 60.5 against the dollar in early trade in Moscow

The Russian ruble hovered near its lowest in more than a week against the dollar in early trade in Moscow after the peak of the favorable tax payments period passed and Russian stocks hit a two-month high.

At 0732 GMT, the Russian currency lost 0.1% to 60.55 against the dollar. After the sharp fluctuation at the market open, the ruble was up 1.1% to trade at 59.99 against the euro. "There are no major factors to support the ruble," Promsvyazbank analysts said, adding that they expect the currency to weaken smoothly to 61 against the dollar. Month-end tax payments, usually paid by Russian exporters to the treasury by converting foreign currency earnings into rubles, ended last week. "We note that repair work will be carried out on Nord Stream this week, which could weaken the national currency in general," Promsvyazbank added. Russia has reduced the flow in Nord Stream 1 to just 20% of capacity and plans to shut it down completely for three days next week, citing maintenance problems with the turbines. The EU accuses Russia of using gas as a weapon against Western sanctions over Ukraine. The ruble has been the world's best-performing currency this year, bolstered by emergency capital controls imposed by the central bank in an attempt to halt a mass sell-off. The volatility has eased after wild swings in March, when it hit a record low of 121.53 against the dollar in Moscow trade in March, shortly after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine. It then rose to 50.01 in June, its strongest level in seven years. The ruble's volatility may soon increase again. The Moscow Stock Exchange will stop accepting dollars to collateralize transactions starting today and plans to resume early morning trading in September. The central bank has also eased foreign exchange restrictions for banks. Russian stock indices are rising. The ruble-denominated MOEX Russia index rose 0.5% to 2,279.3 points, its highest level since June 30. The dollar-denominated RTS index rose 0.3% to 1,186.5 points. Follow Global Economic Developments on Social Media! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Facebook account! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Instagram account! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Twitter account!