The value of a country’s currency is highly correlated with the GDP. Before the Ukraine invasion, oil and gas accounted for about 21.7 percent of Russia’s GDP. By December, it had dropped to 18 percent of GDP. Although the ruble plummeted, immediately after the invasion, by summer, it had rallied, because it seemed that Europe had not found a way to do without Russian energy. Meanwhile, Ukraine refused to surrender, dragging out the war, handing Russia defeat after defeat, and the sanctions became ever tighter, driving down the value of the ruble.

On September 26^th, the British pound lost nearly 5% of its value overnight, hitting a 37-year low. After months of continual devaluation, the pound is now worth 21% less than it was at the beginning of the year. The pound’s sharp decline has been blamed on the release of Britain’s new mini-budget, which included major tax cuts, energy price caps, and direct payments to citizens to help them cope with record levels of inflation.