June 7 (Reuters) - The rouble traded steady on Friday

ahead of the central bank's meeting to set interest rates and

before President Vladimir Putin speaks at Russia's premier

investment forum in St Petersburg.

At 0744 GMT, the rouble was 0.1% weaker against the dollar

at 88.95 and had lost 0.1% to trade at 96.86

versus the euro. It shed 0.2% against the yuan to

12.25.

Most analysts polled by Reuters forecast a rate hold at 16%,

although a quarter predicted a hike to 17% as inflation remains

stubbornly high. Higher rates support the Russian currency by

making rouble savings more attractive.

The central bank will announce its rate decision at 1030 GMT

and Governor Elvira Nabiullina will hold a news conference at

1400 GMT, slightly later than usual so as to avoid clashing with

Putin's appearance at the St Petersburg economic forum.

The head of Russian state bank VTB, Andrei

Kostin, forecast a 100-basis-point hike on Thursday, adjusting

his prediction after listening to the central bank chief's

comments on inflation.

Nabiullina had barely touched on monetary policy in her

forum appearance, focusing more on Russia's role on the global

stage.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's

main export, was down 0.1% at $79.83 a barrel.

Russian stock indexes were higher.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.3% to

1,135.1 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was

0.4% higher at 3,204.5 points.

Sinara Investment Bank analysts said the 100-basis-point

rate hike already seemed to have been reflected in Russian stock

prices.

For Russian equities guide see

For Russian treasury bonds see

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)