Russian Central Bank announced setting the official rates of the ruble against nine other foreign currencies, including the Egyptian pound, the UAE dirham, the Qatari riyal, the Thai baht, the Vietnamese dong, the Serbian dinar, the New Zealand dollar, the Georgian lari, and the Indonesian rupiah.

The new decision will allow Egypt and Russia to use the ruble and the pound in commercial transactions between the two countries instead of the dollar, as the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Russia is estimated at $4.7 billion for the year 2021.

Egypt will also benefit from the incoming Russian tourism in obtaining the Russian ruble in trade exchange.

Market sources believe this decision will create an opportunity for the Russian pellet to enter the Egyptian market.

Pellet exports peaked after the Russo-Ukrainian War as importers tried to take advantage of lower prices. However, later, Russia’s exports declined due to the unwillingness of some countries to take risks due to international sanctions.