Russian rouble weakens to 45 against dollar for first time

MOSCOW: The Russian rouble weakened to 45 against the U.S. dollar for the first time in history on Wednesday, following a decision by the Russian central bank to limit its daily interventions.

The rouble hit a record low of 45.02 against the dollar. By 1510 GMT it had recovered slightly to 44.82, still down 2.8 percent on the day.

Earlier on Wednesday the central bank said that it would limit its interventions to $350 million a day, a step which analysts said effectively amounts to a float of the currency.