Russia is gradually reducing its dependence on the dollar and is switching to settlements in national currencies with its trading partners.
This was announced on Thursday, March 11, by State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.
In particular, according to him, the use of national currencies is actively growing in bilateral relations with the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
“Within the EAEU, our settlements in national currencies have grown to 74%.
We are systematically increasing trade in national currencies with China and Turkey, ”RIA Novosti quoted Volodin as saying.
According to the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), back in 2013, the share of settlements in national currencies within the EAEU was 63%.
Experts interviewed by RT explain the growth of the indicator by the desire of Russia and other countries of the union to minimize the risks associated with the dollar.
“When prices for key export items are set in dollars, the resulting revenue becomes dependent on the US currency rate, which the United States can indirectly influence based on its political interests.
Against this background, we see that in our country, for example, with the states of Europe, trade transactions are largely carried out in euros, with the CIS countries - in rubles, and with China - partly in yuan, "- explained to RT an expert from BCS World of Investments, Albert Koroev.
Note that over the past seven years, the share of settlements in national currencies between Russia and China has grown almost tenfold.
So, if back in 2013-2014 the indicator was 2-3%, then in 2020 the value reached 24-25%.
This was previously stated by the Russian ambassador to the PRC Andrei Denisov.
The systematic increase in the volume of transactions in rubles and yuan allows a business to significantly save on financial transactions.
This point of view in an interview with RT was expressed by the Acting Director of the Institute of the Far East of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexei Maslov.
“In this case, settlements are made directly, so entrepreneurs can reduce the costs of recalculations and conversions.
Considering that in the past few years the volume of trade between Russia and China has exceeded $ 100 billion a year, then the business savings are impressive.
Under these conditions, the share of settlements in national currencies between Beijing and Moscow may almost double in the coming years, ”the expert suggested.
A similar dynamic can be observed in Russia's trade with other countries.
For example, from 2018 to 2020, the share of the ruble in servicing Russian exports to India increased from 38% to 68%.
The chief economist of the EDB, Evgeny Vinokurov, told RT about this.
Moreover, according to him, in trade relations with Turkey, the ruble accounts for 34% of all import transactions.
Reserve protection
According to Viacheslav Volodin, Russia is gradually abandoning the dollar even while accumulating its own reserves.
So, at the end of February 2021, the Ministry of Finance transferred 15% of the funds of the National Wealth Fund (NWF) in yuan and another 5% in Japanese yen.
At the same time, the shares of dollars and euros decreased from 45% to 35%.
At the same time, 10% of the NWF money is still kept in pounds sterling.
“The funds of the fund work in much the same way as other investments.
They allow you to increase the accumulated reserves by playing on exchange rate differences when buying or selling currency.
Considering that in the international arena there is a tendency for the dollar to weaken against the euro and other currencies, a decrease in the share of American money in the NWF is a logically correct decision, ”explained Artyom Deev, head of the analytical department at AMarkets to RT.
© REUTERS / Maxim Shemetov
According to experts, the Central Bank adheres to a similar strategy in the formation of gold and foreign exchange reserves in Russia.
According to the latest data from the Central Bank, from January 2018 to June 2020, the share of the dollar in the international reserves of the regulator more than halved - from 45.8% to 22.2%.
At the same time, the share of the euro increased by almost a third - from 21.7% to 29.5%, and the yuan - more than fourfold, from 2.8% to 12.2%.
“By their actions, the authorities are trying to ensure the stability of the Russian financial system.
Thus, a decrease in the share of the dollar in reserves will help reduce the burden on the country's economy in the event of any new restrictions on the part of the United States.
It should be noted that, in general, Moscow's policy on de-dollarization is in line with the international trend, "Denis Badyanov, an analyst at Alfa-Capital Management Company, said in a conversation with RT.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), over the past 5 years, the share of the dollar in world reserves has dropped from 65.54% to 60.46%.
The achieved figure was the lowest since 1995.
At the same time, the share of the euro increased from 19.79% to 20.53%, and the yuan - from 0 to 2.13%.
“We see that the same China is gradually building its currency space, which it can fully control.
Now the share of the yuan in world calculations is no more than 3%, while the country's contribution to global GDP is 17%.
It is obvious that Beijing is not allowed to enter the global financial market, so it is trying to expand its influence in alternative ways, including the introduction of the yuan in settlements with partners, ”said Alexey Maslov.
In addition, European countries are gradually reducing their dependence on the dollar.
As the executive director of the capital market department at Univer Capital, Artyom Tuzov, told RT, in recent years the states of the eurozone increasingly prefer to nominate contracts in their own currency instead of the American one.
“The initiative to strengthen the role of the euro was first included in the EU agenda a couple of years ago. The fact is that Europe pays for about 80% of raw material imports in US currency. This dependence, to a certain extent, creates risks for the energy security of the union, ”the expert emphasized.