Russia’s ruble plunged nearly 30 percent against the U.S. dollar to a record low on Monday, after world powers imposed fresh, harsher sanctions on Russia over its operation in Ukraine.
The ruble fell as low as 119.50 per dollar in Asian trading, a steep drop of 30 percent from Friday’s close. It subsequently recovered to around 110 per dollar, according to Reuters.
The U.S. and EU said over the weekend that they would block key Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) system.
The interbank messaging system connects over 11,000 banks and financial institutions in more than 200 countries and territories to quickly, accurately and securely send and receive information such as money transfer instructions.
The sanctions also include preventing Russia’s central bank from using its foreign reserves. The central bank announced a slew of measures on Sunday to support domestic markets.
The central bank said it would resume buying gold on the domestic market, launch a repurchase auction with no limits and ease restrictions on banks’ open foreign currency positions.
