Russia's Demand for Chinese Yuan Purchases Surges... Increases Eightfold After Easing Foreign Exchange Controls

[Photo by Reuters-Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Major foreign media reported on the 7th (local time) that the demand for Chinese yuan purchases among Russians has surged. As the West imposes financial sanctions on Russia, Russians are diversifying their assets by increasing yuan holdings instead of US dollars and euros.

Russian state-owned Otkritie Bank released a report on the same day stating that yuan demand increased eightfold after the foreign exchange purchase restrictions were lifted on the 20th of last month. The Russian Central Bank eased restrictions related to foreign exchange purchases to mitigate the impact of Western financial sanctions.

Otkritie Bank also reported that demand for the British pound and Swiss franc increased 2.5 times, while demand for the dollar and euro decreased.

Aliya Zhubkova, Deputy Head of Financial Markets at Otkritie, analyzed, "The yuan has become a more stable currency with reduced volatility compared to the past," adding, "It can become a key currency for foreign exchange diversification."

The ruble-yuan trading volume compiled by the Moscow Exchange also increased to 44.3 billion rubles this week, setting a record high. It appears that the Russian Ministry of Finance's recent resumption of currency purchases from so-called friendly countries to induce ruble depreciation has influenced this.

The ruble sharply fell earlier this year due to Western sanctions, but doubts about the effectiveness of the sanctions and favorable factors such as rising oil prices have overlapped, leading to a sharp rebound, currently marking the highest level in seven years.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.