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Rouble falls to record low against the dollar on ceasefire worries

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Scottish independence may be hitting the headlines over here, but morning trading showed markets' main concerns are still over the situation in Ukraine and the associated sanctions hitting Russian businesses. 

While the pound fell slightly against the dollar – 0.02 per cent – on jitters over what will happen north of the border on Thursday, the rouble took a hammering in morning trading, dropping 0.83 per cent to a record low of 38 roubles to the dollar. It also fell 0.49 per cent against the euro.


Source: Yahoo Finance

 
The fall was not unexpected: on Friday the European Union published fresh sanctions against Russia, including further restrictions on international borrowing for oil firms such as Rosneft, Transneft and Gazprom. 
 
Vladimir Putin responded by issuing sanctions on European clothing and used car imports. 

Moscow's Micex fell 0.43 per cent in early trading, while London-listed energy stocks with exposure to Russia also suffered.

BP fell 1.12 per cent, while Shell dropped 0.52 per cent and events company ITE Group, which generates 65 per cent of its revenue in Russia, fell 1.43 per cent.