MOSCOW: The Russian rouble firmed in early trading on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session that came after the central bank hiked interest rates in an emergency meeting aimed at supporting the currency. At 0407 GMT, in a thin trade, the rouble was trading at 96.5 against the dollar after closing at 97.09 the previous session.

It traded at 105.3 versus the euro, firming from the 105.5 at close in the previous sessions. It was stable against the yuan at 13.39. Tuesday's extraordinary rate meeting came after the rouble plummeted past the 100 threshold against the dollar on Monday and the Kremlin criticised the central bank's monetary policy.