Russian rouble and stocks are down with US poised to reveal fresh sanctions

The rouble and Russian shares have retreated this morning on the threat of fresh US sanctions.

Sanctions targeting some of Russia’s most prominent tycoons dragged Russia's currency down and battered some of its top companies last week. Yesterday, the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, warned a wave of new sanctions were on the way with the aim of punishing Russia for its backing of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

The rouble was down about 0.36 per cent this morning against the US dollar at about 62.24 after falling more than six per cent last week.

Russia's rouble-based Moex index also slid about 0.5 per cent to 2,164.32 while the dollar-based RTS index fell 0.8 per cent to 1,095.7.

Shares in aluminium giant Rusal, which plummeted last week, dropped about 30 per cent in Hong Kong, while the company's Moscow-listed shares were down nearly six per cent today.

MariosHadjikyriacos, investment analyst at XM, said risk sentiment was "not out of the woods just yet", saying: "Russia has yet to respond to the Syrian strike, while the US Treasury is reportedly preparing to unveil new sanctions against Moscow today."

Oil prices fell, however, as geopolitical tensions were somewhat eased by signs that there would be no significant retaliation in response to a US-led air strike on Syria over the weekend.

At the time of writing, Brent crude futures were down 1.76 per cent at $71.30 a barrel, having risen above $72 a barrel last week.

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