Russia Has Been Almost Completely Cut Off From The Global Oil Trade For Dollars
- 16.09.2025, 15:22
The unionization of the RF carries risks for it.
Western sanctions against Russian banks and oil companies have almost completely cut Russia out of the global trade in oil for dollars, according to data from the Russian Energy Ministry, which publishes "Izvestia".
The ministry estimates that the share of the dollar - the world's key currency, which accounts for half of all global settlements - in payments for Russian oil and oil products has fallen to a paltry 5% from 55% before the war. The share of the euro has shrunk to 1%, although before the invasion of Ukraine it had reached 30%.
On the whole, according to the Central Bank, "toxic currencies" in the export earnings of Russian companies account for only 13.4% - the minimum in the history of observations. In July, only about $5 billion of the economy's $38 billion in export earnings came into the country in the form of dollars and euros. For comparison: in 2013, the share of the main currencies of world trade in Russian exports reached 90%. And their inflow amounted to about $40 billion every month.
Cut off from dollars, the Russian economy is switching to yuan. According to the Energy Ministry, two-thirds of Russia's oil is now sold for Chinese currency. Not only China pays in yuan, but also India, notes Valery Andrianov, an associate professor at the Financial University under the Government.
The oil trade with India was initially tried to be introduced in rupees, but the Indian Central Bank did not authorize its withdrawal outside the country. As a result, oil companies accumulated billions of dollars in Indian currency, which they could not use.
Spending rupees on Indian goods has also proved difficult: the republic buys more goods from Russia, primarily energy resources, than it supplies to Russia, Andrianov notes.
Uanization of Russia, which is presented by the authorities as a breakthrough towards a multipolar world, actually carries risks. Unlike the dollar, the Chinese currency is not freely convertible and is under strict control of the Central Bank, Andrianov points out. In addition, it is virtually impossible to spend yuan to purchase goods anywhere but China, and its share in world trade is only 4.3%.