Chinese yuan becomes Russia’s main foreign currency after new US sanctions

Moscow is adopting the Chinese yuan-to-ruble exchange rate as its benchmark currency pair after the United States expanded sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, the country’s central bank said on Thursday.

The new restrictions target any global financial institution processing transactions with Russia. They also take aim at investments in Russian stock exchanges.

According to a report of the Business Insider, the new US sanctions prompted the Moscow Exchange to end dollar and euro trading on Thursday, causing confusion — since the exchange rate is now opaque. Some lenders in Russia stopped selling US dollars altogether, while the dollar-ruble rate spiked at some local banks.

Source: THE BUSINESS STANDARD