TOKYO- The rouble plunged to an all-time low on Monday, and the dollar soared against nearly all peers after Western nations announced fresh sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, and Vladimir Putin put nuclear-armed forces on high alert.
The rouble dropped to as low as 119 per dollar in early trading, screaming through its previous low of 90 roubles per dollar.
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.
Elsewhere, the euro tumbled as much as 1.3 percent to $1.112, before recovering a little to trade at $1.1165. It was also down 0.9 percent on the yen, and was off 0.7 percent versus the Swiss franc.
However, the dollar was the main beneficiary of the tension around Ukraine. The dollar index at was at 97.244, well up from Friday’s close of 96.570.
The greenback even gained a fraction on the yen, which was at 115.58 per dollar.
