MOSCOW, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble weakened

against the U.S. dollar and China's yuan on Friday, after

strengthening sharply in the two previous sessions.

At 0850 GMT, the rouble was down 0.4% to 97.10 against the

dollar, according to data from the over-the-counter market. The

rouble weakened 0.3% to 13.29 against China's yuan on the Moscow

Stock Exchange (MOEX).

The rouble has strengthened by 12% against the dollar so far

this year, despite new U.S. energy sanctions, on expectations of

easing tensions in the longer term between Russia and the United

States as well as lower demand for foreign currency from

importers.

The rouble strengthened by about 3% in the sessions on

February 5 and February 6 on news about possible talks between

Russia and the United States on resolving the Ukraine conflict.

The last time the rouble traded around 97.00 to the dollar

in a sustainable way was in October 2024. On February 6, the

rouble hit its strongest level against the yuan since September

16, 2024.

The rouble also received support from increased sales of

the Chinese yuan by the central bank. The regulator intervenes

on the forex market to ensure there is enough liquidity.

One-day dollar/rouble futures, which trade on MOEX and serve

as a guide for the over-the-counter exchange rate, were flat at

99.00. The Russian central bank set the official exchange rate

at 96.91.