MOSCOW, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The rouble fell on Friday, drifting away from this week's almost five-month high as market players locked in profits before the weekend, with the Russian currency still buttressed by exporters' foreign currency sales and high interest rates.
At 0721 GMT the rouble was down 0.7% against the dollar at 89.00, having touched 87.6550 on Tuesday for its strongest since June 30.
It lost 0.6% to 97.11 versus the euro and shed 0.7% against the yuan to 12.43.
"The rouble is down for now ... but by the middle of next week it has a good chance of at least touching the strong support of 85 (to the dollar)," said Alor Broker's Alexei Antonov.
Month-end tax payments, which usually prompt exporters to convert foreign currency revenue into roubles to meet domestic liabilities, are supporting the Russian currency.
Despite Friday's slide, the rouble remains on course for a seventh consecutive weekly gain against the dollar and has firmed from beyond 100 since the announcement last month of a presidential decree requiring some exporters to convert a significant portion of foreign exchange revenue.
Kremlin aide Maxim Oreshkin on Wednesday said the reduction in capital outflows had helped the rouble to recover, along with a stabilising balance of payments. Strong consumer demand could limit a further rise in the rouble, he said.
The Bank of Russia's interest rate hike to 15% in late October has also buttressed the currency. The bank has signalled that another increase may be needed before it can start lowering the cost of borrowing, but analysts broadly agree that the cycle of increases is close to completion.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.1% at $81.37 a barrel, extending losses from the previous session as traders speculated on whether the OPEC+ group of producers would come to an agreement on further supply cuts.
Russian stock indexes were mixed.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.5% at 1,143.3 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was up 0.3% at 3,230.5 points. (Reporting by Reuters Writing by Alexander Marrow Editing by David Goodman )
