Russian Ruble: This Is Its Free-Fall in One Chart

The ruble dropped as much as 20 percent at one point today.

ByABC News
December 16, 2014, 10:24 AM

— -- The Russian ruble has dropped to its lowest point in 16 years -- and has been in free-fall for some time as this chart shows.

The ruble, or the rouble, fell 20 percent today, its biggest intra-day fall since 1998, the time of the Russian financial crisis.

Overnight, the country's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate to try to slow the ruble's slide to no avail.

PHOTO: The drop of the ruble, or rouble, shown here through the Morgan Stanley Trade Weighted Index over the last year, is the steepest in 16 years.
The drop of the ruble, or rouble, shown here through the Morgan Stanley Trade Weighted Index over the last year, is the steepest in 16 years.