Putin’s ally makes new demand for ruble trade Business

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While there are tentative signs of de-escalation in the Russian-Ukrainian war, tensions between Moscow and the West show no signs of letting up.

A top Putin ally has proposed that Moscow extend its demands for ruble payments from the West to commodities, including oil, metals and fertilizers.

It comes after Putin ordered so-called “unfriendly” countries to pay for gas imports in local currency – a move the G7 strongly rejected.

The Kremlin is fighting to prop up the ruble after a wave of Western sanctions sent Russian markets crashing.

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What happened overnight

Strong gains on Wall Street and Europe were more than offset in Asia, with Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Manila, Jakarta and Wellington all performing well. Tokyo bucked the trend by falling.

coming today

Annual results: Key words

Economy: Consumer confidence, business climate (EU); inflation (All); GDP, ADP employment change, personal consumption expenditure (US)