Today, the Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov announced that Russia will fully de-dollarise the National Wealth Fund (sovereign fund), converting its remaining US$40 bn into Chinese yuan, gold, and euro within a month's time. The share of USD will drop from 35% to zero, while euro will go up to 40%, Chinese yuan to 30% and gold to 20%. While the ruble initially reacted positively to the news, we believe it to be neutral. • The de-dollarisation is unlikely to involve any open market transactions. With the NWF essentially being an FX deposit with the central bank, the entire deal can be covered by the central ... (full story)