Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov declared today that Russia may get rid of the U.S. dollar when trading oil contracts internationally.
The official stated this on the program “Sunday Evening with Vladimir Soloviev” on the TV channel “Russia 1”, reported Russian news outlet RIA Novosti.
“We have significantly reduced our investments in US assets, in fact, already the dollar, which was considered a world currency, becomes a risky tool for settlements,” he said.
The measures being considered are the result of pending sanctions against the Russian Federation over the Skripal poisoning in the United Kingdom. Congress is also considering ‘crushing sanctions’ against Russia, primarily targeting Russian banks.
Siluanov said the sanctions are “unpleasant,” but nothing fatal. In response, Moscow will only continue to minimize investment in the US economy and securities and will push for payments in rubles and other currencies, including the euro.
The response, however, will not target American companies operating in Russia, he said. “Currently, we do not plan any restrictive measures or closures, for example, to close McDonald’s, as our citizens work in these companies,” reported Zero Hedge.
Meanwhile, as Russia is contemplating abandoning the dollar, the recently introduced Chinese “petroyuan” oil futures contract has seen a surge in interest recently, and just last week we showed that the Chinese oil futures contract spiked to a new record high, coinciding with the re-imposition of US sanctions on Iran. This was the biggest daily move in China’s oil futures since the contract’s inception in March to a new all time high.
US Should Enjoy Dollar Hegemony, As It’s Not Going To Last Long
