The use of the ruble in settlements for goods and services exported by Russia to European partners was up 58.5% in March 2024 to record levels, according to data from the Central Bank of Russia.

This marks a significant increase from the previous year, with the ruble's share rising by 10.8 percentage points annually and 9.6 percentage points month-on-month.

Statistics from the Russian Federal Customs Service indicate that exports to Europe in the first quarter of 2024 accounted for 15.2% of the total volume of Russian goods exports, equivalent to $15.4bn. The Russian Central Bank, which resumed publishing data on the currency structure of payments for exports and imports in the summer of 2023 after a hiatus of one and a half years, provides detailed statistics on trade with various regions including Asia, America, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and Oceania.

This rise in the use of the ruble reflects a broader trend of de-dollarisation and a shift towards using national currencies in international trade.

"The increasing reliance on the ruble for trade settlements underscores the changing dynamics in global trade and the geopolitical shifts influencing these trends," said a spokesperson from the Central Bank of Russia.

Previously, data on the currency structure were provided for the European Union, BRICS, CIS, and major trading partners such as China, Turkey, India, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. This detailed reporting allows for a comprehensive understanding of how Russian trade is evolving in the context of current geopolitical and economic conditions.

The ruble has overtaken the yuan to become the main currency used for settling international trade deals, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) reported on April 8.

The share of the ruble used to settle international trade deals has risen to over 40%, up from a third last year, while the share of the yuan has slipped slightly to around 30%.

The CBR also reported that in March the share of the yuan in the on-exchange and over-the-counter FX markets had reached new all-time highs of 53% and 39.6% respectively.