"Russian oil traders have started asking Indian buyers to pay in RMB."

According to a Reuters exclusive report on October 7, Russian oil traders have recently begun requiring Indian state-owned refineries to pay in RMB. Sources said that after the improvement of Sino-Indian relations, Russian oil sellers see this as an opportunity to simplify transactions with Indian buyers.

A person familiar with India's purchase of Russian oil from Indian companies revealed that recently, the Indian Oil Corporation, India's largest refiner, has already paid for two or three batches of Russian oil shipments in RMB. The Indian Oil Corporation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to sources who told Reuters, Russian oil traders previously allowed buyers to pay in RMB, Dirham, and USD, but later they needed to convert Dirham or USD payments into RMB, as only RMB could be directly converted into Rubles. Now, Russian oil traders are seeking to streamline the process and require buyers to use RMB directly.

The person said that traders are pricing Russian oil in USD to ensure compliance with the EU "price cap" and seek equivalent RMB payments.

This person further explained that using RMB payments will expand the supply of Russian oil to India's state-owned refineries, because some traders in Russia do not accept other currencies.

After the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Western sanctions against Russia, but this move has accelerated Russia's de-dollarization process, and it has increasingly used alternative currencies such as RMB and UAE Dirham for oil trade settlements.

In July last year, Vladimir Chistyakhi, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, stated that the Russian Central Bank would "do everything possible" to ensure that RMB continues to be used for settlements and investments in Russia, and pledged to work on exploring relevant mechanisms and pathways.

Reuters said that in 2023, the Indian Oil Corporation had used RMB to pay for part of the Russian oil, but stopped this practice after tensions in Sino-Indian relations. However, private Indian refineries continued to use RMB.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845383429399616/

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