Russian ruble plunges to new low

Moscow - Russia's ruble took another big hit on Monday morning, reaching a new historic low as the Central Bank continued a policy of controlled devaluation that has seen the ruble shed more than 1% of its value almost daily.

The ruble lost 1.3% against the euro-dollar basket at the start of trading on Monday on the MICEX foreign exchange. The Central Bank normally keeps the ruble's value within a 1% range against this basket of currencies to avoid large fluctuations.

The ruble shed 0.3 rubles against the dollar, to 32.9 rubles - its lowest point since December 1997, just before the government redenominated the national currency. The ruble fell 0.6 rubles against the euro, to 43.8.

It was the 18th decrease since November 11, when the government launched a controlled devaluation policy that has seriously depleted its currency reserves.

Declining oil prices and the sharp slowdown in the global economy have pushed the ruble down, cutting some 28% of its value since its high of 23.4 in early August.

Economists said the ruble is pressured by expectations that oil prices will continue to fall.

- Sapa