Ngoc Van – Monday, June 10, 2024 18:06 (GMT+7)
Russia and China, two
BRICS member countries , have sold hundreds of billions of dollars in US bonds in recent times.
Watcher.guru reported that Russia has sold $4.5 billion in US bonds in the past two years. After the US imposed sanctions on Russia in February 2022 because of the military campaign in Ukraine, the Central Bank of Russia sold bonds worth 30 million USD.
This is just the beginning in 2022 and since then the country has gradually reduced US debt.
Latest data shows that Russia has sold a total of $4.5 billion in US bonds over the past two years. This sale is in line with the BRICS agenda of de-dollarization . This move puts more pressure on the USD if developing countries begin to separate from the US economy.
Russia is not the only BRICS country to ditch US bonds. China leads in selling US bonds and has sold nearly 74 billion USD in just 7 months and 101.9 billion USD in the 12 months through March 2024.
According to the US Treasury Department, China has cut the amount of US Treasury bonds from 869.3 billion USD in March last year to 767.4 billion USD in March this year.
China’s holdings of US Treasury bonds have continuously declined from an all-time high of $1.31 trillion set in November 2013.
Beijing increased its gold reserves after selling USD bonds. The World Gold Council said that the Central Bank of China (PBOC) will be the largest buyer of gold from 2022, not US bonds.
Overall, the BRICS bloc bought the most gold in the past two years, outpacing institutional funds and global retail investors. There has been widespread speculation that the group could back the future BRICS common currency with gold.
Director of the BRICS Institute in New Delhi, Mr. Binod Singh Ajatshatru, told Sputnik India that the bloc is working to have the BRICS common currency ready for launch in the next 3-4 years, expected in 2027.
Newsessentials Blog 
Posted on June 18, 2024
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