Moscow Exchange plans to restart early morning FX trading in September

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MOSCOW — Moscow Exchange, Russia’s largest bourse, on Friday said it intends to restart its early morning trading session for currencies and derivatives in September and to widen the trading hours of the Chinese yuan before the end of the year.

Demand for the yuan in Russia has increased since Feb. 24 when Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine and the West imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow, limiting its access to the dollar and euro markets.

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“The use of the dollar and euro in the Russian economy is high, but we are seeing a gradual rise in interest in the yuan,” Yana Pleshkova, head of sales in Moscow Exchange’s FX market department, told reporters. “Its share in spot-market transactions now exceeds 10%.”

Pleshkova said the exchange was considering increasing trading hours for the yuan and adding more currencies, such as the Uzbek sum, before the end of the year.

She also said the exchange planned to gradually return to its standard exchange schedule.

Russia’s main trading hours are between 0700 and 1600 GMT. The earlier trading session begins at 0350 GMT and was introduced in March last year as part of an effort to attract more Asian investors. (Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Hugh Lawson)