Dollar is being replaced with yuan on the Moscow Exchange

The Chinese yuan now has the largest share by volume in forex trading, with 39% of the total volume of trading in major currencies, up from 37% in February. The dollar's share dropped to 34%, while the yuan's share was just 0.32%. Market participants continued to reduce the volume of transactions in 'toxic' currencies, such as the dollar and euro, due to Ukraine-related Western sanctions against Russia. By the end of February, the volume of trading in the ruble-yuan pair amounted to 1.49 trillion rubles ($18.1 billion) against 1.43 trillion ($17.4 billion) in the dollar-ruble pair. In March, turnover in the yuan grew further to 2 trillion rubles ($24.3 billion), against 1.7 trillion rubles ($20.7 billion) worth of transactions with the dollar.

Russian citizens significantly increased the volume of yuan purchases, from 11.6 billion rubles in February to 41.9 billion in March. Russian banks offer foreign currency accounts, while foreign currency can also be purchased through banks and money exchanges. Some Russians buy other currencies to hedge against volatility in the ruble. Analysts say the changes in the yuan and dollar trading volumes reflect Russia’s move away from transacting in the currencies of so-called 'unfriendly' countries against the backdrop of sanctions. In February, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said the country no longer trusts the US currency, calling it “a completely unreliable instrument.” In late March, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country would have continued to use the dollar, but sanctions forced it to de-dollarize. The yuan is one such currency, especially since it is also used by the International Monetary Fund.