Chinese yuan overtakes US dollar as most traded currency on Russian stock market

(MENAFN) For the first time, the Chinese yuan has surpassed the United States dollar as the most traded currency on the Russian stock market, as reported by business daily Kommersant on Monday. In February, the volume of trading with the yuan exceeded 1.48 trillion rubles (USD19.6 billion), a 33 percent increase from the previous month.

Meanwhile, trading with the United States dollar also increased by 8 percent to 1.42 trillion rubles (USD18.8 billion). As a result, the yuan represented nearly 40 percent of the total volume of trading in major currencies, followed closely by the dollar with just over 38 percent, while the euro accounted for 21.2 percent. This marks a significant change from a year ago, when the greenback accounted for 87.6 percent of the market, the euro for 11.9 percent, and the yuan for just 0.32 percent.

These changes reflect Russia's move away from "unfriendly" currencies amid growing sanctions by the US and EU, according to Kommersant. Chinese customs data shows that trade between Moscow and Beijing increased by 29.3 percent over the past year to more than USD190 billion. Around half of Russia's trade with China is conducted in rubles and yuan, according to chief analyst at Sovcombank, Mikhail Vasilyev.

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