MOSCOW, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble weakened

against China's yuan, reflecting weak sales of the Chinese

currency by exporting companies, but strengthened slightly

against the U.S. dollar on Friday.

The rouble was up 0.5% at 101.70 against the dollar

by 0915 GMT, over-the-counter market data showed. The rouble

weakened 0.6% to 13.60 against China's yuan in trading on the

Moscow Stock Exchange (MOEX).

The yuan has become the most traded foreign currency in

Russia due to Western sanctions.

"The market is generally optimistic about the rouble but

corporations are holding onto the foreign currency," said a

dealer from a large Russian bank, who declined to be identified.

"They have a reduced mandatory forex sale limit, tax

payments are still a long way off, and there is a desire to sell

the foreign currency at a higher price, but later," the dealer

added.

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

guide for the over-the-counter exchange rate, were up 0.2% at

102.65. The Russian central bank set the official exchange rate

at 102.29.

Sanctions on MOEX and its clearing agent, the National

Clearing Centre (NCC), led to varying prices and spreads as

trading in dollars and euros shifted to the over-the-counter

market in June 2024.