The ruble hit a historic low on Wednesday as the dollar climbed past the 80.1 rubles level for the first time, exceeding the levels seen during the dramatic plunge of the Russian currency in December 2014.

After a day of relative calm, the ruble continued on a downward spiral, falling past 80.1 rubles against the dollar, the historic low recorded on December 16, 2014, as oil prices, key to Russia's economy, were testing 12-year lows.