Russia's ruble is still worth less than a penny, and the Kremlin's piggy bank for propping it up is running low

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The ruble has come off its lows from earlier in the week after the central bank halted all foreign currency purchases for the remainder of the year, but it remains battered—and resources for preventing a further collapse are shrinking.

On Friday, the central bank set the official rate at about 108 to the U.S. dollar. While that's improved from Wednesday's rate of 114 on the spot market, that's still means one ruble is worth less than a penny.

The ruble has tumbled 9% against the dollar since Nov. 21, when the U.S. sanctioned some 50 Russian banks, including Gazprombank, which has emerged as a top linchpin for Russia in currency markets. And for the year to date, the ruble has crashed about 20% against the greenback.

While that could boost Russia's exports by making them cheaper, it will likely stoke inflation further by making imports more expensive. Even though Western nations have largely cut off trade with Russia, products from China have replaced many imports, and the ruble has fallen against the yuan as well.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/russia-ruble-still-worth-less-202142459.html

Heckuva job Pooty Poot