Russian rouble weakens after central bank withdraws support

MOSCOW, Dec 27 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble weakened against the U.S. dollar on Friday after the central bank announced it will withdraw some support for the currency in the first working week of 2025 after the New Year's break.

The rouble was down 0.5% at 100.50 against the dollar by 0800 GMT, over-the-counter market data showed. The Russian currency weakened 0.25% to 13.44 against China's yuan in trading on the Moscow Stock Exchange.

The central bank said it will reduce its net forex sales by almost 60% from Jan. 9 under its complex scheme of foreign currency operations both to ensure supply on the domestic market and to act on behalf of the finance ministry.

"This indicates a winter stabilisation of the situation and the damping of exchange rate volatility following the extreme turbulence at the end of autumn," BCS brokerage analysts said.

After the rouble tumbled to its lowest mark in around 2-1/2 years in November as a result of new U.S. financial sanctions, the central bank moved in to prop up the rouble by deferring purchases of foreign currency on behalf of the finance ministry.

The rouble regained much of the lost ground since then and stabilised around 100 to the dollar, the level seen by the market as the new equilibrium for the Russian currency.

One-day rouble/dollar futures, which trade on the Moscow Stock Exchange and are a guide for the over-the-counter exchange rate, were up 0.4% at 101.42. The Russian central bank set an official exchange rate at 99.23 to the dollar. (Reporting by Gleb Bryanski Editing by Tomasz Janowski)