The Russian rouble tumbled to new record lows today despite repeated interventions by the central bank to keep the national currency afloat.
The rouble broke through the level of 60 to the dollar and 75 to the euro for the first time, hitting 61.25 to the greenback and 76.10 to the European single currency in afternoon trading.
The slump came even though the Russian Central Bank spent nearly $6 billion so far this month on market interventions to slow the rouble's slide.
The bank made interventions every day last week, and on Thursday decided to hike its key rate by one percentage point to 10.5%.
Russian Central Bank chief Elvira Nabiullina said last week that the bank is prepared to spend up to $85 billion over next year to prop up the ruble if necessary.
The rouble's depreciation continued through the weekend however, pulled down by a global slump in oil prices and the effect of Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's annexation of Crimea and its role in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian economy is set to contract next year. The World Bank said last week that its forecast of a 0.7% contraction is based on a scenario where crude oil is at $78, and that the economy will shrink by 1.5% if the price is $70.
The 2015 budget is balanced on the assumption of selling oil at $95 per barrel - a price well above the current level hovering around $60.
