According to a person familiar to Russian gas giant Gazprom, four European gas purchasers already have settled for gas supply payments in rubles as Russia wanted, and more cut-offs if any country opposes the Kremlin’s demand are unlikely till the later half of May. The other next transactions are due by then.
Currently, 10 European corporations already have opened a bank account with Gazprombank to fulfil President Vladimir Putin’s specified payment methods, according to the source, who spoke on the requested anonymity for discussion of such private topics.
According to the person, deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria were turned off on Wednesday after they declined Gazprom’s suggested rouble payment scheme, which the gas giant claims does not breach European Union sanctions. Russia provides fuel through pipelines to about 23 European countries.
Following the European Union’s implementation of sanctions against Russia for its incursion of Ukraine, Moscow insisted that shipments begin on April 1 to be received in roubles. The EU, on the other hand, warned member countries that the Kremlin’s suggested scheme, which involved creating euro as well as ruble bank accounts with state-regulated Gazprombank, would have been a violation of the restrictions.
Numerous countries have stated that they will defy Moscow’s requests. Russia and a number of its companies have been sanctioned as a result of the invasion. Western sanctions have harmed Russia’s economy, however the EU has refrained from imposing restrictions on energy imports.
So far this year, Europe has paid Russia between 200 million and 800 million euros which is about $880 million each day for about 40% of its gas.
Ruble and Crude Oil
On Wednesday, Ruble (RUB/USD) was down by 0.89% and valued at 72.8689 (down by 0.6561 points) or $0.14. It is at its pre-war value currently. There had been various fluctuations in the due course.
As reported earlier by Rising Candle, the rouble stood 2% higher against the dollar (RUB/USD) at the time of writing on March 30, 2022, having reached 82.55 at the Moscow Exchange, which is the highest level since February 25, just the day after Russia launched tens of thousands of soldiers into Ukraine.
Moreover, the ruble had climbed 2% against the euro (RUB/EUR) to 92.30, after briefly reaching 90.73, its highest level since February 23.
The crude oil futures dipped whereas natural gas prices soared today. Brent futures were down by 1.19% and were priced at $103.7 today. Moreover, the WTI futures dropped by 1.43% and was a little above the $100 mark. However, the Natural Gas futures gained 2.72% and were priced at $7.036
