MOSCOW - The Russian currency and stock markets are turbulentas oil prices dipped to a new low and confidence in the economy weakened further.
Stocks at the MICEX _ where most of Russia’s trading takes place _ were spiralling down so fast Wednesday afternoon that the exchange had to suspend trading for one hour.
They regained some of today’s losses later in the day. By 6 p.m. (1500 GMT), the MICEX index was down 3 percent. The other exchange, RTS, shed nearly 5 percent.
Many international funds sold out of Russia since September 2008 when the domestic market began to crumble.
Meanwhile, the ruble closed at 40.8 against a basket of dollars and euros on Wednesday_ edging closer to the trading limit of 41 rubles the Central Bank announced in January.
