reel at the scale of the trading scandal

You are standing in the street, an aggressive person charges toward you. He is throwing punches although none really connect. You "reel" backward in an effort to get out of his way. You are somewhat off balance and unsteady and your arms are windmilling in an effort to regain your balance. You are surprised and somewhat shocked.

scale in this context means size.

On a sliding scale of 1 - 10 this would be a 9.

Thank you very much dadpad!