Russia's rouble has regained ground from Tuesday's all-time low, although trading remains edgy and volatile.
It opened 4% lower on Wednesday, but then edged up. In early trading,one US dollar bought 66 roubles, far fewer than the record low of 79 on Tuesday.
The falls were sparked in part by fears of new Western sanctions against Russia for its stance on Ukraine.
Russia revealed it spent almost $2bn on Monday trying to intervene in the currency market.
The Russian Finance Ministry said on Wednesday it had begun selling off stocks of foreign currency in an attempt to stop a further slide in the value of the rouble.
It said the currency was "undervalued" but its words and actions have had little apparent impact.
A drastic 6.5 percentage point rise in Russian interest rates to 17% early on Tuesday also failed to halt the slide.
The rate rise, which was meant to strengthen the currency. helped it hit 58 to the dollar early on Tuesday. In later trading, however, the dollar at one stage bought as many as 79 roubles.
The rouble has lost more than half its value against the dollar this year, hit by cheaper oil and Western sanctions which have both weakened the Russian economy.
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