Prostitutes in the Russian port of Murmansk hiked their prices 40% as the value fo the ruble fell.  The ruble fell to 54.82 against the dollar and 67.82 to the euro before somewhat recovering.
The rouble has lost more than a third of its value against the dollar and euro since the start of the year.Western sanctions against Russia over Ukraine and the fall in oil prices are hurting the economy.

A decision by the oil producers’ group Opec not to rein in production – which would have bolstered crude prices – sparked a big fall in the rouble. The currency dropped by 9% on Monday – its biggest one-day decline since 1998.

Oil and gas revenues are the biggest single source of revenue for Moscow.

On Monday, Russia’s central bank spent about $700m to support the currency, according to official data.

There were unconfirmed reports on Wednesday that the bank was again intervening to prop up the ruble.

The bank indicated in early November that interventions would be less frequent as part of a plan to let it float freely on the currency markets.