VINACHEM

The Russian ruble has become for the first time the main currency in settlements for goods and services imported from Asian states, according to data from the Russian Central Bank analyzed by Sputnik.

In August, the ruble’s share in the settlements for imports from Asia hit its record high of 43.6%, compared to 42.9% in July. At the same time, its share outnumbered the share of the currencies of the countries Russia calls friendly by 0.6 percentage points in August, which made the ruble the main currency in payments for goods and services from Asian countries.
The ruble also managed to get a record share in payments for goods imported from African countries, which increased by 0.5 percentage points and reached 69.9%, as well as imports from Oceania, where the ruble is used to pay for 84.3% of all goods supplied.
In general, the use of the Russian currency in trade fell to 44.7% in August compared to 45.9% in July. At the same time, the share of the currencies of friendly states also decreased by 2.2 percentage points to 31.2%.

On the other hand, "toxic" currencies were the main beneficiaries, as 24.1% of Russian imports were paid in them in August, according to the data. This can be explained by the increase in the share of unfriendly currencies in trade with Asia, which grew by 1.1 percentage points, with the United States - by 8.3 percentage points, and with Europe - by 6.9 percentage points.
The last time the share of the ruble in trade with Asian countries exceeded the share of friendly currencies was in February 2022. However, at that time unfriendly currencies dominated Russia's trade with the Asian region.

Earlier this month, Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov said that 95% of settlements between Russia and China were carried out without the participation of third-country currencies. In September, the vice chairman of the BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sameep Shastri, said that the use of national currencies in transactions between BRICS members had overtaken the dollar.