April 28 Reuters The Russian rouble extended gains in early Moscow trade on Thursday, supported by monthend tax payments that led to increased conversion of foreign currency into roubles, while stock indexes posted solid gains.

Movements on the Russian market are partly artificial as the rouble is propped up by capital controls, while stocks are trading with a ban on short selling and with foreign players being barred from ditching shares in Russian companies without permission.

At 0737 GMT, the rouble was 0.3 stronger against the dollar at 72.59 after hitting 72 in light trade on the Moscow Exchange. Against the euro, it hit 74.3525, a level last seen in early March 2020 before retreating to trade 0.5 softer at 75.75 .

The Russian currency is expected to swing within the range of 7173 to the greenback, Promsvyazbank analysts said in a note.

The rouble has firmed in the past few days as exportfocused companies were selling their foreign exchange revenues to meet local liabilities that could exceed 3 trillion roubles 41.24 billion this month, according to analysts surveyed by Reuters.

The rouble has fully recovered to levels seen before Feb. 24, when Russia started what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine that led to unprecedented western sanctions, including a freeze on Russia39;s reserves.

On the bond market, yields on 10year benchmark OFZ treasury bonds stabilised near 10.13 ahead of Friday39;s central bank ratesetting meeting.

The Bank of Russia is…