Russian Finance Ministry May Buy RMB Under 2023 Budget Rules

Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the Russian Finance Ministry will not resume foreign currency purchases this year, including RMB, and will do so only if it receives additional oil and gas revenues in 2023 beyond the budgeted base.

Earlier, the finance minister did not rule out buying “friendly” foreign currencies on the market this year, he noted, referring to the purchase of RMB. In this case, Siluanov said, the excess oil and gas revenues will be calculated using the cessation of supply prices initially set in the 2022 budget, before the suspension of budget rules due to strict sanctions against Russia.