Russia Exploring Euro, Yuan As Dollar Replacements For 2020 Debt - Finance Minister

Russia Exploring Euro, Yuan as Dollar Replacements for 2020 Debt - Finance Minister

Russia is looking beyond the dollar as the default currency for external loans in 2020 and is exploring the euro or China's yuan as options, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov told reporters on Saturday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th October, 2019) Russia is looking beyond the dollar as the default currency for external loans in 2020 and is exploring the euro or China's yuan as options, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov told reporters on Saturday.

"We're also looking at next year. Maybe in yuan the question maybe settled at last, because we have created an infrastructure for yuan loans in the last few years. At last, in euro, we can also try to do some work." Siluanov said on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting between the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington.

New US sanctions against Russia went into effect late August limiting US banks from purchasing Russian public debt denominated in currencies other than rubles.

Siluanov even posited the absolute absence of the dollar from Russia's public debt in 2020.

"We do not see any problems here as a result of restrictions on dollar borrowings. Of course, this is rather unpleasant, but we will monitor the market situations and, possibly, enter in euros." Siluanov added.

The $3 billion debt ceiling included in the 2020 budget will be much lower in case of Russia begins borrowing in euro or yuan currencies, the finance minister added.