Russia No More Dollars For Exports As Use Of National Currencies In BRICS/SCO Trade

By Rhod Mackenzie

The use of dollars for payments for Russian exports of oil and oil products in  fell to 5%of the total volume , while in yuan they rose to 67%. According to documents from the Ministry of Energy, more than 90% of payments for raw materials and fuel are made using currencies from friendly countries and the ruble. Analyst are positive about the move away from dollar payments for energy resources, but believe that Russia needs to focus on expanding the use of other currencies in order to avoid the hegemony of any one, be it the yuan or the dollar.

What is the price of Russian oil?
Since 2022, the US dollar's share of revenue from oil and oil product exports has decreased from 55% to 5%, while the euro's share has fallen from 30% to 1%. This is stated in the Ministry of Energy's presentation "Strategy for the Development of the Oil Industry until 2050: Objectives, Solutions, and Results"
As stated in the document, 24% of settlements are made in rubles, 67% in yuan, and 4% in other world currencies.

Following the introduction of numerous sanctions by the West and the subsequent initiation of the Cold War, Russia began to transition away from reliance on the dollar and euro for its financial transactions.

"The trend of using the dollar and euro has changed dramatically. Due to the challenges encountered with settlements in these currencies, we are transitioning to national currencies. The yuan and ruble are both in demand here. This vector will continue," Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated in April 2023.
He stated that Chinese partners pay for Russian gas in yuan. Furthermore, a proportion of payments for Russian oil are made in yuan.

The Deputy Prime Minister confirmed that the government is committed to enhancing mutual settlements in national currencies.
He noted that foreign partners are interested in purchasing Russian energy resources, but payments for them can now only be made in national currencies.

According to the Central Bank's statistics, at the end of 2024, dollars and euros for the first time in annual terms occupied the smallest share in the currency structure in settlements for Russian exports. Their market share stood at 18.6%, representing a 13 percentage point decrease from the previous year's 31.6%. This development coincided with an increase in the share of currencies from friendly countries, which rose to 40.2% from 29.4% in 2023.

It is worth noting that for the second year running, the ruble has the largest share of settlement transactions for exports (41.3%), but this is only 2.3 percentage points higher than the 2023 figure. For the first time, the dollar and euro also accounted for the smallest share of settlements for imports.

It has  been  reports, there has been an increase in settlements for Russian goods in rubles. In the second quarter of 2025, 53% of transactions were conducted using the national currency, representing an increase from 40% a year earlier. The ruble's value increased by 15 percentage points in trade with Asia (up to 51%), and its share of trade with the American region doubled (up to 48%). In settlements for exports to Oceania, Africa and the Caribbean, our country has almost completely transitioned to using rubles, with the share for these regions exceeding 90%.
With regard to payments for Russian oil and oil products, it is important to note that India is one of the largest importers. However, rupees are not represented in the revenue structure cited by the Ministry of Energy in the presentation.
According to Tamara Safonova, CEO of the Independent Analytical Agency for the Oil and Gas Sector (NAANS-Media), in 2024, India imported 87.5 million tons of oil and 5.1 million tons of oil products (representing 36% and 5% of the total export volume, respectively).
In autumn 2023, Bloomberg reported that New Delhi had rejected demands from Russian suppliers to pay in yuan, citing the ongoing tense relations with Beijing as the reason. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has formally stated that it will not be able to accept these terms. It is estimated that 70% of India's oil refineries are state-owned, meaning that the majority will not be required to pay in the Chinese currency," the report noted.
Nevertheless, India has adopted the yuan as its official currency in trade with Russia. As Valery Andrianov, associate professor at the Financial University, explains, rupees have limited convertibility into rubles for two main reasons. Firstly, the Indian currency is generally weak. Secondly, there is an imbalance in bilateral trade, with the republic buying more goods from Russia (primarily energy resources) than it supplies to the Russian Federation.

Therefore, in most cases, such conversion is carried out through the dollar. This results in the appearance of an additional commission and associated risks, especially in the context of sanctions. As a result, rupees are practically not used when paying for Russian oil, — the analyst noted.

He added that the yuan turned out to be the best option: it is liquid and can be easily converted into rubles. In certain instances, payments were also made using UAE dirhams.
As per the statement made by Ekaterina Kosareva, managing partner of VMT Consult, India was obliged to accede to the terms of Russian exporters.

The purchases of inexpensive Russian oil have enabled Indian oil refineries to boost their profits, given that Urals oil is supplied at a discount to Brent. She is of the opinion that replacing domestic supplies with Middle Eastern energy resources will have a significant impact on the profitability of refining.

As reported by The Indian Express, citing an analysis of government statistics, Indian refineries have saved $12.6 billion over a period of three years by increasing their purchases of oil from Russia. According to the newspaper, the refineries have experienced significant financial benefits due to the ongoing low global oil prices, which have been attributed to the continued importation of Russian oil.

The issue of de-dollarisation is a matter of considerable importance.
Nevertheless, according to industry specialists, the yuan is not expected to replace the dollar in the oil markets in the near future. As Valery Andrianov correctly pointed out, the currency is not yet freely convertible. Its rate is determined by the People's Bank of China.

Furthermore, the concept of the 'petrodollar' signifies that the American currency functions as a medium of exchange for oil and numerous other resources, as well as a vehicle for reinvestment and accumulation. He emphasised that the yuan is used much less in world practice as a means of lending and savings, including due to the peculiarities of the financial policy of the PRC authorities.
Therefore, the analysts opinion is that it is unlikely that the yuan will completely replace the dollar in the oil trade.

Instead, we should focus on expanding the use of other types of currencies, including the ruble. Valery Andrianov is of the opinion that such diversification will ultimately lead to a reduction in risk, since it will eliminate the dominance of any one currency, whether the yuan or the dollar.

According to Tamara Safonova, the Russian currency plays a significant role in trade transactions involving the sale of energy resources and has an impact on smoothing out currency imbalances.

Furthermore, trade wars and sanctions pressure will increasingly influence the rapprochement of the BRICS and SCO countries in terms of abandoning the euro and the dollar, using the national currencies of the alliance countries and pursuing a policy of creating unified payment systems and depository infrastructure protected from restrictions by the countries of the collective West, she summarised.