In a bid to maintain economic stability in the face of Western sanctions, Russia announced that it would resume its use of foreign exchange interventions starting on Friday by selling yuan.
Russia’s economy has proven remarkably resilient since the West imposed the harshest sanctions in modern history due to the conflict in Ukraine, but the world’s largest producer of natural resources is now leaning more and more toward China.
In reaction to decreasing oil and gas earnings, the Russian finance ministry, which together with the central bank oversaw Moscow’s economic response to the sanctions, announced it would begin selling 54.5 billion roubles ($798 million) in foreign currency on January 13.
Russia foreign exchange: The Finance Ministry will resume operations for the purchase and sale of liquid assets, according to the ministry, “to increase the stability and predictability of domestic economic conditions and to reduce the impact of volatile energy market conditions on the Russian economy and public finances.”
Although the price of Russia’s primary blend is now trading at less than $50 per barrel, the country’s 2023 budget is based on a Urals blend price of about $70.1 per barrel. The IMF predicts that the nominal GDP of Russia will reach $2.14 trillion this year, the highest level since 2013.
