Posted on 9. März 2023 in Allgemein
• India and Russia have started to settle oil deals in other currencies, putting the U.S. dollar’s dominance in the international oil trade under pressure.
• Sources have reported that the transactions between India and Russia amount to several hundred million dollars over the last three months.
• An economist at the U.S. State Department commented on these moves, saying they are only “transitory gains” that won’t have much effect on Western sanctions.
Reuters reported that Western sanctions on Russia and oil trading between Moscow and India have started to erode the dollar’s decades-old dominance of international oil trade by settling oil deals in other currencies.
Oil traders and banking sources informed Reuters that Indian customers are paying for Russian oil entirely in non-U.S.-denominated fiat currencies, such as UAE dirhams, over the last three months accounting for “several hundred million dollars” in transactions between both countries.
Analysts and economists from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (collectively known as BRICS nations) suggest that these countries are attempting to undermine the U.S dollar by settling more trades outside of it.
Former chief economist at the U.S State Department Daniel Ahn commented on these moves stating they are only short-term efforts with transitory gains that won’t affect western sanctions much: „Russia’s short-term efforts to try and sell things in return for currencies other than the dollar are not a real threat to Western sanctions,“ Ahn said in a statement
Ahn also added that despite this move away from using US dollars as currency for international trades, its strength is still unmatched: „The dollar’s strength is unmatched,“ he said