The Russian rouble was set to plunge nearly 30% to all-time lows versus the dollar on Monday, while the euro sank after Western nations announced fresh sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine https://www.reuters.com/world/india/war-with-ukraine-putin-puts-nuclear-deterrence-forces-alert-2022-02-27, including blocking some banks from the SWIFT international payments system.
Safe haven currencies including the U.S. dollar and yen were in demand after Russian President Vladimir Putin put nuclear-armed forces on high alert on Sunday, the fourth day of the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two.
The rouble was indicated as low as 119 per dollar RUB=EBS , a more than 29% tumble.
The euro EUR=EBS declined 0.83% to $1.1181, after earlier falling as much as 1.34%. The single currency lost 0.72% to 129.32 yen EURJPY=EBS , and was 0.67% lower at 1.03655 Swiss franc EURCHF=EBS .
"The escalating crisis in Ukraine will force markets to price in a substantially higher geopolitical risk premium, (and) that is going to leave safe havens like the USD bid," Westpac strategists wrote in a client note.
"The Ukrainian situation is volatile, and so too is market sentiment, although a risk-averse backdrop near term appears the most prudent assumption," meaning more downside for Australian and New Zealand dollars, they said.
The Aussie slid 0.76% to $0.71795 AUD=D3 , while New Zealand's kiwi sank 0.82% to $0.6689 NZD=D3 .
Sterling GBP=D3 slipped 0.29% to $1.3368.
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