No, the Yuan Is Not Replacing the US Dollar in Russian Markets

Misbar’s team investigated the circulated claim and found it fake. Russia did not replace the U.S. dollar with the Chinese Yuan dollar as the currency of choice in its markets. Neither the Russian Central Bank nor the Russian President has issued a decision in this regard.

In fact, on February 28, the Russian Central Bank issued a decision imposing special economic measures that went into effect on March 5. The new rule restricts the amount of foreign currency that can be sold. This is one of a number of steps taken to counter the economic sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

After the dollar and the euro, the Chinese Yuan ranks third in terms of trading volume in the Russian foreign exchange market.

The Russian Central Bank's website also shows that it still trades in U.S. dollars, and the Russian ruble's value against the U.S. dollar is displayed on a daily basis.

The claim began to circulate following statements published on Sunday, March 6, by the Russian news agency Sputnik. Grigory Sosnovsky, regional director of the "BCS World of Investments" regional network for working with wealthy clients, compared foreign currencies that could replace the dollar in Russia in an interview for Prem Agency.  The comparison included the Chinese Yuan, the Swiss Franc, and gold. According to him, the Chinese Yuan is better suited to liquidity than the U.S. dollar, the European Euro, and the Swiss Franc.

Russia continues to use dollars both locally and internationally, but it has been planning for years to deal in local currency (the ruble) in foreign trade payments. The Russian Central Bank imposed a number of measures to keep the ruble's value/exchange rate against the dollar stable.

Translated by Ahmed N. A. Almassri