Russian rouble strengthens slightly against US dollar

MOSCOW, April 14 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble strengthened slightly against the U.S. dollar and the Chinese yuan on Monday, supported by the central bank's increased foreign currency sales and high interest rates.

By 0815 GMT the rouble RUB= was up 0.2% at 83.05 against the dollar on the over-the-counter market. The rouble is up about 25% against the dollar this year, mostly on expectations of an easing of tensions between Russia and the United States.

The Russian currency strengthened by nearly 3% over Thursday and Friday last week, buoyed by news of a Russia-U.S. prisoner exchange and a visit by U.S. President's Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff to Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin.

"The rouble is in a relatively stable position. Optimism for the Russian market can be boosted by the recent visit of the U.S. president's special envoy to Russia," said Russian Standard Bank analyst Maxim Timoshenko.

"However, the decline in oil prices due to fears of a global recession is not in favour of the national currency."

Oil prices edged up on Monday, having lost about $10 since the start of the month on concerns over global trade.

Against the Chinese yuan, which is used by Russia's central bank for its foreign exchange interventions, the rouble was up 0.5% at 11.20 on the Moscow Stock Exchange.