This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine

June 24 Reuters The Russian rouble stabilised near sevenyear peaks on Friday, supported by capital controls and high prices for Russian exports, such as oil and gas, while OFZ government bond prices climbed higher.

At 0715 GMT, the rouble was 0.1 weaker against the dollar at 53.50 , near its strongest level since mid2015 of 52.80 it touched earlier this week.

Against the euro, the rouble was flat at 56.18 , close to the level of 55.01 it hit on the Moscow Exchange for the first time since late May 2015.

The rouble, which has become by far the world39;s bestperforming currency this year, is steered by Russia39;s high proceeds from commodity exports, a sharp drop in imports and a ban on households withdrawing foreign currency savings.

The strong rouble hammers incomes of exportfocused companies and could weigh on the economy as it tips into recession amid harsh sanctions over what Moscow calls a special military operation in Ukraine.

In the short term, the rouble could firm to 50 to the dollar or even beyond, said Dmitry Polevoy, head of investment at Locko Invest.

But the strong rouble is beneficial for importers, although they cannot use its full benefits in purchases due to sanctions and logistics disruptions.

But as imports gain pace, particularly thanks to socalled parallel imports, the rouble could see some downside pressure.

Russian ecommerce firm…