The Wall Street Journal: Russia continues to break the US dollar constraint
The Wall Street Journal noted that Russia is taking many steps to reduce its dependence on the US dollar, and that these efforts are bearing fruit.
The newspaper said that Russia appeared ready to address the tightening of US sanctions, expected by the end of this month.
The Central Bank of Russia increased its gold reserves this year and sold US Treasury bonds, it added.
Russian authorities are planning to increase the number of transactions with some countries in national currencies, and the Russian government has been granting tax facilities to exporters who do not use the dollar in their accounts.
The exclusion of the dollar, backed by the Russian President Vladimir Putin, is expected to ease the blow if the new sanctions are aimed at the Russian financial system.
“Russia has decided with a growing number of countries to get rid of the hegemony of the US dollar”, the paper said, noting that China is also seeking to break its peg to the dollar as the EU seeks to strengthen the role of the Euro and open dialogue on establishing a new payment system for exchanges with Iran.
Venezuela, Pakistan and others reduce dependence on the US dollar.
