Page 59 - RusRPTJul19

Second, rising oil exports accounted for a good portion of last year’s increase in Russia-China trade, and oil markets are dollar-denominated. Considering the attention MinFin and the Bank of Russia have put specifically into diversifying Russia-China trade payments, these figures do not bode well for the government’s broader de-dollarization efforts. Looks like the pesky dollar is here to stay.
In absolute terms, the value of yuan- and ruble-transactions grew, but not significantly. They increased from $11.4 to $13.3bn and from $5.3 to $6bn, respectively. The share of dollar-transactions fell slightly from 77.2% in 2017 to 75.8%, but grew substantially in absolute terms, from $70.9 to $86.5bn.
Trade in euros doubled, from $4.1 to $8.3bn, and the euro’s share increased from 4.5% to 7.3%.
The authorities have made de-dollarization a priority since the West imposed sanctions in 2014. Among other things, they have opened a $24.5bn swap line with China’s central bank, established a clearing house for yuan-denominated transactions in Moscow, and promised exporters that they won’t have to repatriate earnings starting in 2024 if they are ruble-denominated.
59 RUSSIA Country Report July 2019 www.intellinews.com