Oct 23 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble hit a near six-week high close to the 95 mark against the dollar on Monday, locking in the strong gains made late last week with the support of high oil prices and exporters' preparations for month-end tax payments.
At 0734 GMT, the rouble was 0.2% stronger against the dollar at 95.17, its strongest point since Sept. 13.
It had gained 0.1% to trade at 100.72 versus the euro and firmed 0.1% against the yuan to 12.99 .
Month-end tax payments usually see exporters convert FX revenues to pay local liabilities. Additionally, President Vladimir Putin's decree on mandatory FX sales came into force last week, requiring 43 groups of exporters to repatriate 80% and sell 90% of FX revenues.
The rouble's moderate strengthening - it gained close to 2% on Friday - may well continue, said Alor Broker's Alexei Antonov, as exporters increase their foreign currency sales.
"It's worth noting that the rouble's growth was not accompanied by an increase in trade turnover," said Antonov, linking this to decreased FX demand from importers, rather than increased sales of dollars or yuan.
Higher interest rates and the subsequent depression of consumer demand may be coming into play, Antonov said.
The prospect of another interest rate rise is also supporting the Russian currency. The central bank has hiked by 550 basis points since July and economists expect another increase from 13% at its next meeting on Oct. 27.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.6% at $91.63 a barrel, but still near 2023 highs.
Russian stock indexes were higher.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.1% to 1,082.6 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.1% higher at 3,273.1 points.
For Russian equities guide see
For Russian treasury bonds see (Reporting by Alexander Marrow, editing by Ed Osmond)
