Rouble falls as devaluation continues

Moscow: Russia's Central Bank allowed the rouble to drop sharply against the dollar on Sunday, resuming a controlled devaluation of the currency that began November 11 as the country's economy continued to weaken.

The rouble dropped by nearly 1.5 roubles on the MICEX foreign currency exchange, to 30.5 to the dollar, down almost 1.7 per cent against the dollar-euro basket by 1pm Moscow time (10am GMT).

The currency rose slightly yesterday against the euro, from 41.4 on December 30, before the start of Russia's ten-day winter holiday, to 41.1.

It is the 13th sharp drop in the national currency since November 11, when the supervised slide began. The rouble's fall has been triggered in part by declining energy prices, which have hit Russia's resource-dependent economy hard.

Russia's Central Bank normally does not allow the currency to lose more than one per cent of its value in one day. The rouble has shed more than 20 per cent of its value against the dollar since its high of 23.4 in early August.

Meanwhile, Russia's industrial production in November dropped 11.1 per cent compared to the previous month.