FX.co ★ India believes de-dollarization still long way off

While some believe that de-dollarization within the BRICS bloc is gaining pace, India states that long-standing payment arrangements are difficult to overturn. At the BRICS summit, Russia was pushing for more trade in local currencies. However, Indian oil and gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri stressed that the country would not refrain from the US currency and the idea of sidelining the US dollar in global trade remained distant, according to Business Insider. “I’d love to see every deal sealed with rupees, but I’m no idealist,” he said during the Business 20 meeting in New Delhi. The minister added that the greenback would continue to dominate international oil markets, although Indian refiners used the Chinese yuan to buy Russian oil and the Indian rupee to buy crude from the UAE. Notably, the BRICS bloc recently held its 15th annual summit, where de-dollarization was on the agenda. So far, this initiative has found weak support within some bloc members. According to the latest SWIFT data, the US dollar's share of global transactions reached a record high, accounting for 46% of international trade in July.