MOSCOW, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble eased away from its strongest point since late June on Wednesday, still supported by foreign currency sales by exporters, high interest rates and a relative recovery in oil prices.
By 1040 GMT, the rouble was 0.5% weaker against the dollar at 88.28, though not far from 87.6550, its strongest point since June 30, hit in the previous session.
It had lost 0.1% to trade at 96.24 versus the euro and shed 0.1% against the yuan to 12.31 .
The rouble has recorded weekly growth for six weeks in a row against the dollar and has firmed from beyond 100 since a presidential decree requiring some exporters to convert a significant portion of foreign exchange revenue was announced last month.
Kremlin aide Maxim Oreshkin said the reduction in capital outflows had helped the rouble recover, along with a stabilising balance of payments. Strong consumer demand may limit further rouble growth, he said.
Month-end tax payments, which usually see exporters convert foreign currency revenues into roubles to meet domestic liabilities, are likely to support the rouble this week.
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 rate hikes is close to completion.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.7% at $81.90 a barrel. Brent prices have dropped around 15% since peaking in September, but have climbed off more than four-month lows reached last week.
Russian stock indexes were mixed.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.1% to 1,153.4 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.4% higher at 3,232.2 points. (Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Gareth Jones)
