You're reading: New York Times: Interest rate rises to 17 percent in Russia

MOSCOW - Russia has a new enemy: the currency markets. Russia's government is in the middle of an all-out fight to preserve the value of the ruble in the face of plummeting oil prices and Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis. In the boldest move yet to stanch the bleeding, the Central Bank of Russia announced a stunning interest rate increase in the middle of the night.

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