MOSCOW, July 8 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble briefly

hit a three-week low against the dollar on Monday, but managed

to halt a downward trend caused by reduced foreign currency

inflows at the start of the month to strengthen marginally on

the day.

The rouble reached 90.02 to the dollar, its lowest mark

since June 14, the day after new U.S. sanctions on Russia's key

financial market infrastructure were imposed, before bouncing

back to 87.62 by 1507 GMT, up 0.4%.

The rouble has weakened steadily since late June, coinciding

with reduced foreign currency supply from exporters who usually

convert FX revenues into roubles to meet local liabilities

towards the end of each month.

Sanctions on the Moscow Exchange and its clearing

agent, the National Clearing Centre (NCC), led to a range of

varying prices and spreads as trading shifted to the

over-the-counter (OTC) market on June 14, obscuring access to

reliable pricing for the Russian currency.

Against the yuan, which had already become the most traded

foreign currency in Moscow before the latest sanctions were

imposed, the rouble strengthened by 0.4% to 11.93, according to

an analysis of the OTC market.

The rouble gained 0.5% against the euro to 94.92.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's

main export, was down 0.3% at $86.28 a barrel.