据另一位银行业消息人士称，印度央行官员本周正在俄罗斯，讨论两国之间双边贸易结算的相关问题。According to Indian government officials, the Indian and Russian central banks are preparing to discuss expanding local currency settlements. Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, bilateral trade between the two countries has soared. The central banks of both sides are considering setting a direct trade reference exchange rate between the Russian-Indian local currencies, bypassing the US dollar as an intermediary.
According to Indian government officials, the Indian and Russian central banks are preparing to discuss expanding local currency settlements, aiming to solve payment issues that have arisen due to the increase in bilateral trade between the two countries since the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The official revealed on Wednesday that discussions between the two central banks will involve setting a direct trade reference exchange rate between the Russian-Indian local currencies, replacing the previously determined exchange rate between the Russian-Indian local currencies as an intermediate currency as the US dollar.
According to another banking source, Indian central bank officials are currently in Russia this week to discuss related issues of bilateral trade settlement between the two countries.
Establish direct exchange rates.
Russia has become India's second largest supplier of goods, second only to China. In the first four months of the fiscal year 2024-25 starting from April, the export value from Russia to India increased to $23.78 billion, a YoY growth of 20.3%.
Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India has seen a significant increase in imports from Russia (mainly crude oil imports). In the fiscal year 2023-24, Russia's exports to India reached 61.43 billion US dollars, an increase of 33% from the previous fiscal year.
If a direct reference exchange rate were to be established between the two currencies, it would require trading between the Indian rupee and the Russian ruble on the same currency exchange platform, which necessitates a larger quantity and longer period of trading. However, the two countries have not yet reached a consensus on this.
The officials also pointed out that the two central banks will have to develop a model that can determine the exchange rate.
Currently, officials from both central banks are investigating the accumulation of rupees in Indian bank accounts held by Russian companies, as trade between the two countries is unbalanced.
In comparison to India's large imports from Russia, its exports to Russia only reached $4.3 billion in fiscal year 2023-24, despite a YoY increase of over 35%.