Russia is changing rapidly. What was previously considered unthinkable and improbable is now becoming the norm. Only this norm is not to the liking of the West, especially the United States.
Daily deteriorating relations between the United States and Russia, unfounded accusations of Moscow in all mortal sins caused a backlash.
The Kremlin decided to hedge its bets financially and radically resolved the issue of US dollars.
The National Welfare Fund decided to get rid of all dollars and assets denominated in dollars. The dollar mass will be converted into euros, yuan, and precious metals such as gold.
It should be noted that of all the available investment instruments, the Central Bank of Russia prefers gold. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation is trying to complete its own reserves in reliable gold bullion.
Russia has long threatened to minimize dollar assets. Finally, this was directly and openly stated by the Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation Anton Siluanov.
At the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, he said that the Fund will get rid of dollars quite quickly - within a month.
He explained why Moscow is reducing assets in US dollars. President Biden is threatening new economic sanctions against Russia after the latest cyberattacks on US institutions and firms.
In total, the fund will liquidate reserves of $ 119 billion. The assets will be liquidated primarily through the Central Bank of Russia, using its huge reserves.
This approach can hide what exactly will be replaced with dollar assets, since the rotation of the Wealth Fund's assets will bypass market operations. Therefore, the dumping of such a large amount of dollars should not cause market unrest.
It should be noted that the Central Bank of Russia has been constantly reducing its dollar reserves in recent years. The reason is an attempt of sanctions pressure from the United States and Europe.
Earlier, the Parliament agreed to the Fund's purchase of gold through the Central Bank. Since the Central Bank of the Russian Federation informs about its reserves with a time lag of several months, it will not be easy to reliably understand the content of financial measures in the near future.
In 2020. Russia had more gold than dollars. The gold-dollar ratio was constantly changing in the direction of the precious metal.
The Welfare Fund remained one of the last warehouses of dollars in Russia. The fund held almost 35 % of its assets in dollars. About the same amount is contained in the euro. The remainder is in yuan, gold, yen, and sterling.
According to Siluanov's forecasts, there will be no place for the dollar in the Fund at all. Assets will be held: 40 % in euros, 30 % in yuan, 20 % in gold and 5% each in yen and pounds.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the United States itself is accelerating the de-dollarization of the Russian economy with its sanctions. All those who are somehow affected by the US sanctions, it is beneficial to reduce their dependence on the dollar.
In April 2021. already less than 50 % of Russian exports are paid in dollars. The rest is in other currencies and in other ways.
To the great displeasure of the United States, Russia is reducing its dependence on the US dollar, while reducing the sanctions pressure from Washington.
https://politnew.com/world/4935-fond-nacionalnogo-blagosostojanija-rossii-polnostju-obnuljaet-svoi-dollarovye-aktivy.html
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