(MENAFN- AFP) The ruble slid again on Wednesday, reaching new record lows against the dollar and the euro as trading began, before recovering slightly.
At 0803 GMT the Russian currency was 54.82 to the dollar and 67.82 to the euro.
The ruble, hit by Western sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine and oil prices reaching five-year lows, has lost more than 40 percent against the euro and more than 60 percent against the greenback since the start of the year.
It suffered its steepest fall on Monday, dropping nearly nine percent to 53.9 against the dollar.
That was its worst one-day drop since Russia's debt meltdown in 1998. On Tuesday, it rebounded to 51.2 to the dollar.
The drop was accelerated by the OPEC decision Thursday to leave its output target unchanged despite the supply glut driving prices sharply lower. The move hit the Russian economy hard as oil and gas exports are a main source of revenue for the federal budget.
Many analysts increasingly fret over the country's economic outlook and the authorities' apparent reluctance to change tack over the Ukraine crisis as the economy heads into recession.
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