Russia, Iran Officially Ditch U.S. Dollar for Trade

Russia and Iran have finalized an agreement to trade in their local currencies instead of the U.S dollar, Iran's state media has reported. "Banks and economic actors can now use infrastructures including non-SWIFT interbank systems to deal in local currencies," Iran’s state media has declared. Earlier in the current year, Russia paid dividends from the Sakhalin 1 and 2 oil projects in Chinese yuan instead of the dollar. Indeed, exchanging BRICS members’ local currencies with each other and with other emerging market currencies frequently requires using the dollar as an intermediary. The relative stability of the dollar compared to many local currencies makes it more attractive as a medium of payment in cross-border trade.