Russia's currency is taking another nosedive in early trading, hitting new record-lows against the dollar and the euro.
The currency continued its slide despite the Central Bank of Russia announcing a more aggressive plan to prop up the currency. On Wednesday, the Bank announced that it would buy roubles from the market "with the intensity equal to $350 million per day" if it falls below a level that the central bank is comfortable with. But the news failed to stop further falls.
More interestingly, the statement suggests that the central bank is looking to remove its unlimited support of the rouble because it has benefited "speculative strategies against the rouble". The implication is that currency traders had been profiting from the bank's scheme to protect the currency by shorting the rouble to the levels previously set out by the bank.
Now, with all eyes on the rouble, the claim that the exchange rate will be determined "predominantly by market factors" - effectively free-floating - is likely to be treated with scepticism.