(Bloomberg) --
The ruble tumbled past 80 against the dollar, its weakest level since March as tighter lockdowns in Europe threatened demand for crude, Russia’s key export earner.
The ruble has been under pressure for months amid fears of new sanctions, low oil prices and rising coronavirus cases. Concern that Joe Biden may crack down on Russia should he win this week’s U.S. presidential vote has contributed to the currency’s more than 7% slide in the last three months.
Crude sank to a five-month low as a continued increase in Libyan production coincided with a wave of new virus-lockdown measures in Europe. Large swathes of Europe enter lockdown this week, with England joining nations from Austria to Portugal taking tougher action to counter the surge in coronavirus infections.
Russia’s currency fell as much as 0.8% to 80.1250 per dollar, close to the four-year low it reached at the peak of the market rout in March.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
