MOSCOW, March 20 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble weakened

further on Thursday, adjusting after a significant rally since

the start of the year that has been fuelled by hopes of an

easing in geopolitical tensions amid talks between Russia and

the United States.

By 0920 GMT, the rouble was down 0.4% at 84.30 against the

dollar in the over-the-counter market, extending its losses from

the previous session when it fell 2.8%, its biggest daily drop

since the beginning of the year.

Against the Chinese yuan, the most traded foreign currency

in Russia, the rouble was down 1.1% at 11.62 on the Moscow Stock

Exchange. Despite these losses, the rouble is still up by 26%

against the dollar this year.

"What we are observing now is a natural rebound after a

series of margin calls for early players against the rouble and

buyers of currency futures; they simply had to sell urgently,"

BCS analysts said in a note.