Saudi Arabia will continue massive public spending despite a 50 percent drop in the price of oil which provides the bulk of the kingdom's revenue, the finance minister said Wednesday.

Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf commented after completing the 2015 budget, which will be presented to cabinet "in the near future", the official Saudi Press Agency said.

Extreme weather and other natural and man-made disasters caused $113 billion (90.6 billion euros) in economic losses in 2014, reinsurer Swiss Re said Wednesday.

This is 16 percent less than the $135 billion in losses recorded in 2013 and significantly below the average annual figure of $188 billion for the previous 10 years.

Oil suffered fresh losses in Asia Wednesday, sinking to new multi-year lows as dealers watch Russia's ruble crisis and await the latest U.S. crude supply report, analysts said.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for January delivery sank $1.16 in afternoon trade to $54.77 while Brent crude for February fell 71 cents to $59.30 on the contract's first day of trading.

The Russian ruble crashed to new record lows Tuesday, losing some 20 percent in value by the afternoon despite drastic overnight measures by the central bank to hike the key rate.

The ruble hit 80 to the dollar and 100 to the euro on the Moscow Exchange. Overall the Russian currency has lost nearly 60 percent of its value since the start of the year.

Turkey's currency the lira hit a new record low on Tuesday as investors moved out of emerging markets amid the collapse of the Russian ruble and fretted over the impact of raids against Turkish opposition media.

The lira hit a record low in value of 2.41 lira to the dollar, worse than Monday's record low in value of 2.39 lira to the dollar. It subsequently recovered a little to trade at 2.37 lira to the dollar.

Investment sentiment in Germany rose sharply in December after a rebound the previous month, driven by a weak euro and plunging oil prices, a survey found on Tuesday.

The widely watched investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute jumped by 23.4 points in December, after rising for the first time this year in November, ZEW said in a statement.

Cyprus's largest lender returned to the Nicosia and Athens stock markets Tuesday after a 21-month absence following a banking crisis that brought the island's economy to its knees.

But early trades in Bank of Cyprus shares ensured a bumpy ride for the return of the country's top financial company.

Oil suffered another dizzying plunge on Tuesday, with Brent crude sliding to a five-year low under $59 as markets were rocked by shrinking Chinese manufacturing output and turmoil in Russia.

At midday in London, benchmark contract Brent North Sea crude for January delivery slumped to $58.50 per barrel -- the lowest level since May 2009 -- and New York's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January hit a similar nadir at $53.80.

Britain's four biggest lenders have passed the Bank of England's stress tests, which are designed to show their ability to withstand a new economic crisis, the central bank said Tuesday.

Barclays, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group (LBG), are strong enough to cope with a painful downturn that would see house prices plunge by 35 percent, inflation surge and unemployment soar, it said in a statement.

The Russian ruble on Monday fell to new lows despite repeated interventions by the central bank to keep the national currency afloat.

The ruble crumbled to 58.81 to the dollar and 73.23 to the euro after the Moscow Exchange opened Monday morning.