The U.S. dollar exchange rate against the Russian ruble exceeded 71 on the Moscow Exchange on Thursday for the first time since March 2016, exchange data showed.

The ruble traded at 71.45 per dollar during the day, marking a 2.35-percent rise from the previous closing session, according to data on the website of the Moscow Exchange.

It recoiled to 68.90 by 6:00 p.m. Moscow time (1500 GMT), the data showed.

The Russian national currency lost over 20 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar in 2018. It fell down to 60 per dollar in early April as a result of the previous set of U.S. sanctions, and went beyond 70 (70.51 at the highest) per U.S. dollar in September due to fears of new U.S. sanctions.

Washington imposed several major sets of sanctions on Russia individuals, entities and economic sectors in April, July and December, which Moscow repeatedly claimed as illegal and introduced countermeasures in certain fields as retaliation.