On Tuesday, Russia’s central bank stayed on the sidelines, not stepping up its intervention to stop the rouble falling in value against other currencies.

It has hit a five year low this week against a euro-dollar basket, but the pace of decline has slowed.

However the Russian currency remains close to the levels where the central bank has in the past boosted the amount of roubles it has bought using its reserves of dollars and euros.

The rouble has been hammered recently by concerns the central bank could intervene less – along with other negatives, including weak economic growth and weak balance of payments figures.

Russian shares remained stable on Tuesday as investors focus on the stimulus benefits of a weaker and more flexible rouble, particularly for exports