MOSCOW, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble traded flat on Wednesday ahead of two OFZ treasury bond auctions, supported by high oil prices and the prospect of upcoming month-end tax payments, but still hovering near 2024 lows.
At 0758 GMT, the rouble was unchanged against the dollar at 92.36, and had gained 0.1% to trade at 99.93 against the euro. It was steady against the yuan at 12.80.
The Russian currency tends to gain support from month-end tax payments as exporters convert foreign currency revenues to pay local liabilities.
The rouble has been hovering around the 92.5 mark against the dollar for a few sessions and is ultimately likely to weaken beyond this threshold as exporters typically reduce their foreign currency sales at the end of the month, said Alor Broker's Alexei Antonov.
The rouble had slipped to 93 on Friday, moments after the death of opposition politician Alexei Navalny was announced. It had eased earlier in the session as the central bank held interest rates at 16%.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 0.1% at $82.44 a barrel.
Russian stock indexes were lower.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.9% to 1,084.3 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.9% lower at 3,179.6 points.
For Russian equities guide see
For Russian treasury bonds see (Reporting by Alexander Marrow Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
