MOSCOW, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The rouble firmed to 75 against the dollar on Wednesday, extending a recovery as fears of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine eased after Moscow reported a pullback of some forces from the border.
The rouble gained 0.4% to 74.98 to the dollar as of 0720 GMT , returning to levels seen before its sharpest single-session drop in nearly two years on Friday when Western nations urged their citizens to leave Ukraine.
Russia denies it has any plans to invade.
"We expect the dollar-rouble pair to enter the 73-75 range today," Promsvyazbank analysts said in a note.
Versus the euro, the rouble firmed 0.4% to 85.19 .
The rouble is regaining ground after the Russian defence ministry published footage that it said showed it was returning some troops to base after exercises.
But U.S. President Joe Biden warned that more than 150,000 Russian troops were still amassed near Ukraine's borders after Moscow's announcement of a partial pullback was met with scepticism.
UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace also said he did not see any evidence of a Russian troop withdrawal.
Brent crude oil , a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 0.7% at $93.90 a barrel, trading near its highest since September 2014 and supporting Russian stock indexes.
The dollar-denominated RTS index rose 2.3% to 1,532.4 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 1.3% higher at 3,646.9 points.
"Russian stocks poised to extend gains as diplomacy eases geopolitical tensions," Alfa Bank said in a note.
Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Andrew Heavens
Source: Reuters