Russian Currency Collapse Accelerates Despite Central Bank Rate Hike

The Russian currency crashed past 100 against the euro Tuesday, the latest milestone in a currency rout that has rapidly gained momentum despite a huge emergency rate hike from the Central Bank.

One ruble became worth less than one euro cent at 3:13 p.m., according to data from the Moscow Exchange. At the same time, the Russian currency plummeted to 80.1 against the U.S. dollar.

The crash took the ruble's fall Tuesday to 20 percent, the largest one-day currency movement since the financial crisis of 1998 and compounding a 10 percent tumble the previous day.

The ruble later reduced its losses, and at 9 p.m. had stabilized around 8 percent weaker against the greenback at 70 and 11 percent down versus the euro at 89.

The Russian currency has now fallen 55 percent against the dollar since the beginning of the year, making it the worst performing currency in the world in 2014.