Russia made what appeared to be a late U-turn to avoid a default on Friday, as it made a number of overdue interest payments in dollars on its overseas bonds, despite previously vowing to pay only in rubles as long as its reserves remained frozen.
A senior U.S. official confirmed Moscow had made the payment without using reserves frozen in the United States, adding that the exact origin of the funds was unclear. Russia’s Sberbank separately said it had paid coupons on two subordinated eurobond issues in rubles because sanctions by the United States and Britain prevented it from making payments to investors in line with its initial commitments.
The interest payments were supposed to be paid earlier this month but a 30-day ‘grace period’ that government bonds often have in their terms meant Moscow’s final deadline was May 4. The prospect of a default by Russia was almost unthinkable before its invasion of Ukraine. The billions of dollars it earns from selling oil and gas around the world meant it had one of the world’s lowest government debt levels and an enormous stockpile of currency reserves.
I need to tell them the only way they'll accept a payment of being gold only
acoyne Where are they getting the dollars… oh, wait…