Pakistan Ditches US Dollar, Embraces Yuan for Russian Oil Import

Pakistan has made a major step towards achieving de-dollarization by completing its first government-to-government import of Russian oil in the Chinese local currency Yuan. This deal was specifically struck between Islamabad and Moscow and the first cargo has arrived in Karachi since Sunday and is still being offloaded at the port. 

The country’s Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik disclosed this information to Reuters on a phone call. 

According to the minister, the entire transaction involves 100,000 tonnes of oil, but only 45,000 tonnes has been deposited at Karachi with the others on the way. He did not divulge details of the discount which Pakistan received from Russia or the commercial features of the deal. Still, he suggested that the oil importation is certainly a good buy for Pakistan. 

“We’ve run iterations of various product mixes, and in no scenario will the refining of this crude make a loss,” Malik announced. “We are very sure it will be commercially viable.”

BRICS Nations to Ditch the U.S. Dollars

Importantly, the change in currency notes is a clear effort to inactivate the dominance of the United States dollars as regards international trades. More so, it is a milestone for BRICS foundation member countries; Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, that have been pushing for de-dollarization amongst themselves. 

Many member countries, as well as non-members of BRICS have also joined in the drive against U.S. dollar dominance. In April, Indonesia hinted at plans to replace the dollar with an alternative mode of payment. At the time, Indonesia was considering reducing its reliance on the U.S. dollar by introducing Rupiah for cross-border transactions, at least amongst Asian countries.

A few weeks later, Brazil president Luiz Lula da Silva, proposed that the country ditch the dollar for another currency. Apart from using their local currencies, some of these nations are considering Bitcoin (BTC) as a safer alternative to the U.S. dollar, especially now that the cryptocurrency has recovered reasonably from the bear market of last year. 

Noteworthy, Max Keiser, the advisor to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele is positive that if the BTC alternative is accepted, it will be fast track to de-dollarization.