The Russian rouble weakened to 92 against the dollar on Thursday, hovering at its lowest point since early January, hampered by local demand for foreign currency amid low trading activity on the eve of a central bank rate decision.

By 0812 GMT, the rouble was 0.7% weaker against the dollar at 92.01, at its lowest level since Jan. 4, bar two sessions, on Jan. 16 and Feb. 9, that saw sudden, sharp spikes that traders attributed to an algorithmic trading error by a major player.

It had lost 0.9% to trade at 98.77 versus the euro and shed 0.9% against the yuan to 12.70 .

Rouble trading should be more volatile on Friday, said Alor Broker's Alexei Antonov, when the Bank of Russia is widely expected to hold interest rates at 16% at its first meeting of the year, after months of rate hikes.

The rouble has lost some support this month as the state slightly reduced its daily FX sales.

Month-end tax payments usually support the currency as exporters convert foreign currency revenues to pay local liabilities.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.7% at $81.02 a barrel.

High oil prices are supporting Moscow as the conflict in Ukraine drains state coffers, with the fiscal buffers Russia has built up over the last two decades enough to last for years, even if oil prices slump as low as $60 a barrel.

Russian stock indexes were lower.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.9% to 1,113.0 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.2% lower at 3,251.7 points.

For Russian equities guide see

For Russian treasury bonds see (Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Alison Williams)