MOSCOW, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble

strengthened against the U.S. dollar but weakened against

China's yuan on Monday, as the Russian currency continued to

regain ground following a sharp fall at the end of November in

the aftermath of U.S. financial sanctions.

By 0830 GMT the rouble was up 1% at 99.50 against the

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

The rouble weakened by 0.6% to 13.50 against the yuan in trade

on the Moscow Stock Exchange.

The sanctions, imposed on Nov. 22, hit Gazprombank, Russia's

third largest lender, which handles payments for energy trade

with Europe, disrupting foreign trade transactions and the

supply of foreign currency to the Russian market.

"The current situation indicates that Russia's foreign trade

settlements have normalised, and currency is reliably flowing

into the country," said Alexey Antonov at Alor brokerage.

Analysts also noted the impact of the Russian central

bank's decision to stop buying foreign currency until the end of

the year to ease pressure on financial markets.

Trade in dollars and euros moved to the over-the-counter

market after Western sanctions in June targeted the Moscow Stock

Exchange. The central bank sets an official exchange rate for

both currencies based on data directly supplied by banks.

One-day rouble/dollar futures, which trade on the Moscow

Stock Exchange and are a guide for the over-the-counter exchange

rate, were up 0.76% at 10.23. The Russian central bank set an

official exchange rate at 99.42 to the dollar.