Share of "toxic" currencies in payments for Russian imports from Asia falls to new low of 7.6% in Mar

MOSCOW. May 16 (Interfax) - The share of payments made in the currencies of "unfriendly" countries for Russian visible and invisible imports from Asia shrank to a record low of 7.6% in March, Central Bank data on the currency breakdown of foreign trade settlements showed.

Accordingly, the share of rubles and friendly country currencies in payments for imports from Asian countries grew to a new high of 92.4%, including 44.9% rubles and 47.5% other currencies.

The share of "toxic" currencies in payments for imports from African countries also fell to a new low in March, shrinking to 12.6%, while the share of payments in the currencies of friendly countries rose to a record high of 32.7%. However, the share of payments in Russian rubles shrank to 54.7% from a record high 72.0% in February.

The share of ruble payments for Russian exports of goods and services to Asian countries grew to a new high of 45.2% in March, exceeding the previous record of 43.1% reached last November. The share of payments in unfriendly countries' currencies shrank to 13.7% in March, the second lowest figure after the 12.5% seen in June 2024.

Payments for Russian exports to Africa were made primarily in the Russian currency, which accounted for 92.6% in March, down slightly from a record high 92.8% in February.

In overall Russian exports of goods and services, the share of ruble payments rose to a new high of 47.6% in March, beating the previous record of 46.9% reached in December 2024, while the share of payments in the currencies of friendly countries shrank to 35.7% from 39.9% in February. The share of payments in "toxic" currencies was 16.7% in March (it reached a record low of 15.7% in June 2024).

In overall Russian imports, the share of ruble payments has exceeded 50% since December 2024, but dropped to 50.4% in March after climbing to a record high of 53.5% in February from 51.2% in January and 50.8% in December. Friendly countries' currencies accounted for 33.2% of payments for Russian imports in March, and the share of unfriendly countries' currencies dropped to 16.4% from 17.2% in February and 20.6% in January and neared the low of 16.1% reached last December.