FX.co ★ India has no plans to pay for Russian oil in rubles

Although India keeps actively buying cheap Russian oil, it is still reluctant to make settlements in rubles. Delhi says it needs more time to think about whether it should make a transition under the current circumstances. Meanwhile, experts assert the country is simply not ready for the move. Russia’s media has been very vocal about the fact that the country has established settlements with friendly nations in rubles. They claim that China, India, Iran, and other countries have long been making payments in rubles, wishing they have had such an opportunity before. In reality, the share of ruble settlements with China alone is rather small. So, there is no need to talk about other friendly nations. Due to the high volatility of Russia’s legal tender and the unstable geopolitical situation, India has been reluctant to make settlements in rubles. In this light, Indian traders see no urgency in accepting payments from Russia, allowing them to pile up, a source stated.

On the other hand, even if the exchange rate of the ruble stabilizes, it will still take time to create a system for direct payments between the two countries in national currency. So far, the Indian authorities have been cautious on this matter. The regulator is not going to do anything that goes against anti-Russian sanctions, Shaktikanta Das, the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, emphasized.