Sanctions talk hits Russia hard
The ruble is the world's worst performing currency today, falling 3.06%. That compounds the pain in Russian equity markets.
This afternoon, the US State Dept released a statement saying:
"Russia was found to have "used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law or had used lethal chemical or biological weapons against its own nationals." That means some sanctions will come into force around Aug 22 that would ban the sale of sensitive national security goods to Russia and suspend Aeroflot's ability to fly to the US.
Earlier, the text of a Senate bill including crushing sanctions on Russia was leaked and set off the ruble selling.
The USD/RUB chart looks like a serious breakout and with sanctions swirling (and oil falling), it's not likely to reverse any time soon.
