Ruble tumbles 9.5% to new record low despite interventions

AFP ^ | 15 Dec 14 | Maria Antonova and Germain Moyo

[elhombrelibre]

The Russian ruble tumbled 9.5 percent Monday to new record lows as falling crude prices pulled the rug out from under the currency of the oil exporting nation, with analysts saying the Kremlin needs to act to stop the free fall.

The plunge in the ruble came as the central bank warned the low oil price could trigger a contraction of nearly 5 percent next year and tensions surged with the United States over Ukraine.

The ruble broke through the level of 64 to the dollar and 78 to the euro for the first time even though the Bank of Russia apparently intervened Monday and has already spent about $6 billion so far this month to slow the currency's slide.

Russian news agencies said the ruble briefly jumped from 61 back to 60 on the dollar at around 1300 GMT, possibly due to the latest central bank intervention, but it did not stop a further slump.

Having lost over 49 percent of its value against the dollar this year, the ruble's slide is now worse than the 48 percent of the hryvnia in Ukraine, which is fighting a war and is on the brink of bankruptcy.

[elhombrelibre]

The reason the poster is quibbling is you sited the high end Sochi resorts as proof that things are swell in Putinstan. Ha! Wrong again, Putinista.