The rouble plunged to a record low on Monday and the dollar soared against most peers after Western nations announced fresh sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin put its nuclear forces on high alert, Reuters reported.
The rouble dropped to as low as 119 per dollar in early trading, tumbling beyond its previous low of 90 roubles per dollar. It was last at 109.
The declines came despite Russia’s central bank announcing a slew of steps on Sunday to support domestic markets, after Western allies ratcheted up sanctions including blocking certain banks from the SWIFT international payments system.
Restrictive measures on the Bank of Russia were also imposed to prevent it from deploying its international reserves to undermine sanctions.
Adding to nerves, Putin put Russia’s “deterrence forces” – which wield nuclear weapons – on high alert. read more
Elsewhere, the euro tumbled 1.1% to $1.1148. It was also down 1% on both the yen and the Swiss franc .
However, the dollar was the main beneficiary of the tension around Ukraine. The dollar index, which measures the currency against six peers, was up 0.83% at 97.368 .
The greenback even gained a fraction on the yen, which was at 115.53 per dollar.
