Russian rouble weakens after surging on US-Russia prisoner swap

MOSCOW, April 11 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble weakened on Friday, unravelling some of the more than 3% gains in the previous session that were spurred by a Russia-U.S. prisoner exchange and aided by the U.S. dollar's weakness.

By 0915 GMT, the rouble RUB= was down 1% at 84.35 against the dollar in the over-the-counter market. The Russian currency is up about 25% against the dollar this year, mostly on expectations of an easing of tension between Russia and the United States.

The dollar, already on course for its worst year since 2017, plunged to a decade-low against the Swiss franc and dropped to its weakest level against the euro in more than three years on Friday.

The currency market will monitor the visit by U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who arrived in Russia on Friday, according to the RIA state news agency, which cited the Kremlin.

The rouble, supported by increased forex interventions by the central bank, reduced demand for imports, and high interest rates, has so far weathered a 15% fall in oil prices, Russia's main export commodity, since the start of April.

"Such a situation is unlikely to last long. By the end of spring, factors may change. Foreign currency inflows from exports will decrease, imports will begin to recover, and demand for forex will increase," BCS analysts said.

Against the Chinese yuan, the most traded foreign currency in Russia, which is used by the central bank for its forex interventions, the rouble was up 0.3% to 11.48 on the Moscow Stock Exchange.