The Russian ruble fell to fresh record lows on Monday while world stocks slid and oil prices jumped, as the West ramped up sanctions against Russia over its Ukraine invasion, with steps including blocking banks from the SWIFT global payments system.
Russia’s central bank hiked its key interest rate to 20% from 9.5% to bolster the ruble and fight inflation. Authorities told export-focused companies to be ready to sell foreign currency as the ruble slid 32% before recouping about half its losses.
As an economic crisis loomed in Russia, the fallout of tougher sanctions from the West imposed over the weekend rippled across financial markets, especially in Europe, where the pan-regional STOXX 600 index slid 1.10%.
European banks were hit hard, with those most exposed to Russia, including Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank, UniCredit and Societe Generale, falling between 11 and 15%. The wider euro zone banking index lost 6.80%
