Russian ruble craters to less than 1 US cent, stock market freezes after Russia’s removal from global banking system

New financial penalties levied on Russia for its continued aggression in Ukraine appeared to hit the country’s economy hard on Monday as Russia’s currency cratered to a record low value and its stock market froze.

The Russian ruble’s value plummeted to less than one U.S. cent on Monday, Time reported, dropping more than 25% to 105.27 per U.S. dollar, down from approximately 84 per dollar late Friday.

After initially declining to do so, the U.S., Japan, and several European nations on Saturday agreed to enact more severe sanctions on Russia as its forces continued an assault on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, in an attempt to overthrow the government.

The group of nations went after central bank reserves that underpin Russia’s economy and removed several key Russian banks from SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, a vital international banking system.

Time noted the ruble’s calamitous decline would likely send inflation soaring, a development that would hurt all Russians and not just the elites who were targeted in earlier sanctions. – READ MORE