The ruble took another fall on Moscow's foreign-currency exchange Tuesday, dropping 25 rubles from last Thursday's rate of 368 rubles per dollar to a new low of 393.


The volume exchanged was higher than last week's trading, up to $45. 1 million from $39. 3 million at the previous session.


Sergei Novikov, of the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange, said that the ruble would probably continue losing ground in the foreseeable future.


"I cannot say in the long-term, but in the short-term the ruble will probably continue to fall", he said.


The Moscow exchange trades twice a week, allowing Russian banks and companies to buy and sell dollars. The results are also used to set the conversion rate for the Central Bank.


As recently as mid-July, the ruble stood at 135 to the dollar.


But by September, it was trading at 248 rubles to the dollar and now looks set to breach the 400-ruble mark.


Central Bank officials have said that the ruble's fall on the exchange has already overtaken the inflation rate, for the first time making the ruble worth less on the official exchange than on the streets.