March 4 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble strengthened

towards 89 against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, paring losses

after four consecutive sessions of depreciation, as markets

pinned hopes on the prospect of U.S. sanctions relief for

Russia.

The United States is drawing up a plan to give Russia

sanctions relief as President Donald Trump seeks to restore ties

with Moscow and stop the war in Ukraine, a U.S. official and

another person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

That report boosted Russian stock markets, Alfa Investments

said in a note on Tuesday, and by 0908 GMT, the rouble

was up 0.4% at 89.30 to the dollar in over-the-counter market

trade.

Against the yuan, the most traded foreign currency in

Russia, the rouble weakened 0.9% to 12.21, hampered by lower oil

prices.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's

main export, was down 1.3% at $70.55 a barrel after OPEC+

decided to proceed with a planned April oil output increase,

following Trump renewing pressure on OPEC and Saudi Arabia to

bring down prices.