The rouble has tumbled 10 per cent in its biggest fall since 1998 amid a rout in Russian markets that looks set to cap a grim year for the Russian economy.

俄罗斯央行宣布将关键利率（key interest rate）上调至17%。在此之前，卢布暴跌超10%，达1998年以来最大跌幅。在经历严峻的一年后，俄罗斯经济似乎将以金融市场崩盘迎来年终。

Investors have fled Russia this year amid western sanctions and an increasingly gloomy economic outlook, triggering a collapse in the rouble to record lows of 64.45 against the dollar and 81.35 to the euro yesterday.

在西方对俄制裁以及经济前景越来越黯淡的背景下，今年投资者纷纷逃离俄罗斯，引发卢布昨日崩盘，兑美元达1美元兑64.45卢布，兑欧元达1欧元兑81.35卢布，双双创历史新低。

In the bleakest official forecast yet from Moscow, the Russian central bank warned that gross domestic product could contract by 4.5-4.7 per cent if oil prices remained at $60 a barrel.

莫斯科方面传来了迄今最惨淡的g方预测，俄罗斯央行警告称，如果油价保持在每桶60美元，俄罗斯国内生产总值(GDP)可能收缩4.5%到4.7%。

This year, the rouble has lost half of its value against the US dollar, making it the world’s worst performing major currency, ahead of the Ukrainian hryvnia.

今年卢布兑美元汇率已下跌一半，成为全球表现最差的主要货币，乌克兰货币格里夫纳位列第二。

Traders said the central bank had intervened several times during trading yesterday, but had failed to halt the slide in the rouble for more than a few minutes on each occasion.

交易商表示，昨日盘中俄罗斯央行几次出手干y，但每次都只能在几分钟内遏止卢布跌势。

“There is panic in local markets driven by the inaction of the central bank,” said Benoit Anne, head of emerging markets at Société Générale.

法国兴业银行(Société Générale)新兴市场主管伯努瓦•阿内(Benoit Anne)表示：“受俄罗斯央行不作为影响，当地市场出现了恐慌。”

“Russia may not be on the brink of financial crisis but it is close to losing its investment grade status.”

“俄罗斯也许还没到金融危机的边缘，但它已濒临失去投资级地位。”

The sell-off swept across asset classes, with the shares of Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, dropping 6.3 per cent, and Rosneft, the state oil group, falling 4.4 per cent.

抛售席卷了各个资产类别，该国最大银行俄罗斯联邦储蓄银行(Sberbank)股价下跌6.3%，国有的俄罗斯石油公司(Rosneft)股价下滑4.4%。

In US dollar terms, Russia’s Micex equity benchmark has fallen 26 per cent this month — on track to be the biggest monthly drop since October 2008.

以美元计算，俄罗斯Micex股指本月已下跌26%，有可能创下自2008年10月以来最大单月跌幅。

Dubbing it “Red Monday”, Timothy Ash, emerging markets strategist at Standard Bank in London, said the rout demonstrated investors’ lack of confidence in the Russian economy. “It is not just about oil, it is about sanctions, geopolitical risk and . . . the lack of policy action by the Russian authorities.”

标准银行(Standard Bank)常驻伦敦的新兴市场研究主管蒂莫西•艾什(Timothy Ash)将昨日称为“红色星期一”，他表示，市场崩盘表明投资者对俄罗斯经济缺乏信心。“问题不仅在于石油，还在于制裁、地缘z治风险以及……俄罗斯zf缺乏z策行动。”

译者/何黎