MOSCOW, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Russia's weak rouble is

benefiting exporting companies, offsetting the negative impact

of the central bank's high benchmark interest rate, Finance

Minister Anton Siluanov said on Tuesday.

The rouble hit the lowest level against the U.S. dollar and

China's yuan since March 2022 this week, following rising

tensions between Russia and the West over the conflict in

Ukraine and fresh round of Western sanctions against Russia's

financial sector.

"I am not saying whether the exchange rate is good or bad. I

am just saying that today the exchange rate is very, very

favourable for exporters," Siluanov told a financial conference

in Moscow.

Siluanov's remarks are the first admission from a senior

government's figure that Russian authorities at least for the

moment do not object the exchange rate's weakness.

"The key thing is that the exchange rate is more important

for exports than the interest rate," Siluanov added