The Russian government has announced that it has paid interest on dollar-denominated government bonds, which had expired on the 16th, in dollars.
There was a growing view that default = default due to the fact that a large amount of foreign currency reserves were frozen due to sanctions, but Western media reported that investors received interest payments in dollars.
While Russia seems to have the capacity to pay interest payments on dollar-denominated government bonds, it has also stated that it will pay in its own currency, the ruble, as nearly half of its foreign currency reserves have been frozen due to economic sanctions.
Payments in rubles whose value has plummeted may be recognized as default = default by rating agencies, etc., as it is a one-sided change in repayment terms.
Under these circumstances, the Russian Ministry of Finance announced on the 17th that it had paid interest on dollar-denominated government bonds of about 117 million dollars, which was due on the 16th, and about 13.8 billion yen in Japanese yen.
He explained to NHK that he paid in dollars.
Regarding this, Western media such as Reuters reported that "the holders of government bonds received interest payments by the dollar" as a story of market officials, and said that this default was avoided.
However, Russian government bonds are expected to continue to reach the deadline for interest payments and principal repayments, so the market is likely to remain cautious.