Amid Ukraine crisis, ruble hits record low after fresh sanctions

Moscow (Russia): The Russian currency fell 40% on Monday morning after the US and several European countries moved to exclude the country's major banks from the Swift global payments system.

The ruble declined to a record low of 117.75 to the US dollar from 83.75 on Friday, according to Bloomberg data.

On Saturday, the US and its allies said select Russian banks will be removed from Swift, the key financial infrastructure banks use to send money across borders. 

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sunday said Japan will also join the sanctions.

Japanese brokerages stopped accepting new buy orders for the ruble amid liquidity concerns. 

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Asian stock and currency markets were volatile in the morning as investors weighed new sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, as well as developments on peace talks between the two countries.

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Meanwhile, prices of crude oil rallied in the morning amid rising concerns over supplies from the world's leading oil producer.

North Sea Brent futures on the London market, an international benchmark, rose to $105 per barrel immediately after the start of trading Japan time, about $7 higher than the settlement price last week. (With agency inputs)

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