Russian ruble tanks 30pc

Russia's ruble plunged nearly 30 per cent against the dollar Monday after world powers imposed fresh, harsher sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

The ruble was indicated to be down 27 per cent at 114.33 per dollar in offshore trading, according to Bloomberg News.

The United States and European Union said they would exclude some Russian banks from the international bank payments system SWIFT and personally targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. They also banned all transactions with Russia's central bank.

Meanwhile, the G7 nations -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States -- warned they would "take further steps" to add to the sanctions already announced if Russia did not cease its operation.