MOSCOW, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble steadied on Friday, pulling away slightly from the more than one-week low hit in the previous session, with support from capital controls, high oil prices and expectations of another interest rate increase this month.
At 0744 GMT, the rouble was unchanged against the dollar at 89.44, having dropped to 89.6125 in the previous session, its weakest point since Nov. 20.
It had lost 0.2% and traded at 97.62 versus the euro , and shed 0.1% against the yuan to 12.50 .
The Russian currency has now lost the support of a month-end tax period that usually sees exporters convert foreign exchange revenues to pay local liabilities, and the rouble's rally is showing signs of petering out after seven successive weeks of gains.
The rouble has rebounded from more than 100 to the dollar, thanks to reduced capital outflows since President Vladimir Putin introduced the forced conversion of some foreign currency revenue for exporters in October.
"The rouble is predominately cheaper in December as the amount of money in the economy increases towards the end of the year," Alor Broker's Alexei Antonov said in a note.
High oil prices and the prospect of more monetary tightening are supporting the rouble, too. The Bank of Russia, which meets on Dec. 15, raised rates to 15% in late October and has signalled that another increase may be needed.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.3% at $80.61 a barrel.
Russian stock indexes were lower.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.5% to 1,109.7 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.5% lower at 3,150.6 points.
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For Russian treasury bonds see (Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Alexander Marrow. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
