Russia To Create a ‘National Oil Benchmark’ for Pricing Long-Term Contracts

July 18, 2022 (EIRNS)—EIR News Service reported on July 11 that the Central Bank of the Russian Federation announced a “national wheat index price” had been established, called the NAMEX Wheat, and being the Russian (not global market) price in rubles for one metric ton of wheat delivered to the port of Novorossiysk for shipment via the Black Sea.

Now OilPrice.com and Bloomberg News report that Bloomberg News saw documents showing that the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and Russian oil producers preparing to establish by March 2023, a Russian “national benchmark price for oil” in rubles, on a “national trading platform for Russian oil,” to be established by October 2022.

These could be critical “commodity-basing” steps in establishing a fixed parity of the ruble with the currencies of, or with a new reserve currency used by, its major trading partners in Eurasia and the developing sector.

So, Ms. Yellen, you were saying you’re going to set the price for Russian oil?