Russian rouble weakens slightly ahead of Russia-US talks

MOSCOW, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble weakened slightly against the U.S. dollar on Monday ahead of Russia-U.S. talks scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh on February 18.

At 0915 GMT, the rouble RUB= was down 0.3% at 91.40 against the dollar, still the highest level for the Russian currency since September 2024, according to data from the over-the-counter market.

It was also down 0.3% against China's yuan, the most traded foreign currency in Russia, in trade on the Moscow stock exchange.

"The starting negotiations in Saudi Arabia may continue to fuel a positive news background, which will maintain the buying of the rouble by speculative capital," said PSB Bank's analyst Denis Popov.

The Russian currency is up about 20% against the dollar this year, mostly on expectations of easing of geopolitical tensions between Russia and the West.