Russian rouble flat amid increased forex sales by state

MOSCOW, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble was flat against the U.S. dollar and strengthened slightly against China's yuan on Wednesday as net sales of foreign currency by the central bank on the domestic market have increased.

The rouble was at 102.70 to the dollar at 0915 GMT, unchanged from the previous day, over-the-counter market data showed. The rouble strengthened 0.3% to 13.89 against the yuan in trading on the Moscow Stock Exchange (MOEX).

The rouble has been weakening against the yuan, now the only exchange-traded major foreign currency in Russia, following the U.S. energy sanctions that targeted Russia's oil sales to China, its major trading partner.

Under a complex scheme of market operations the central bank buys and sells yuan, the only major foreign currency it can now hold, increasing the net sales when necessary to ensure sufficient supply of the currency on the market.

The net sales of the yuan have increased by almost one third on Wednesday, providing support for the rouble and countering the impact of the U.S. sanctions.

One-day rouble/dollar futures, which trade on MOEX and are a guide for the over-the-counter exchange rate, were also flat at 103.65. The Russian central bank set the official exchange rate at 103.44.

(Reporting by Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

((gleb.bryanski@thomsonreuters.com;))