Russia, China agree 30-year gas deal via new pipeline, to settle in euros
“Russia has agreed a 30-year contract to supply gas to China via a new pipeline and will settle the new gas sales in euros, bolstering an energy alliance with Beijing amid Moscow’s strained ties with the West over Ukraine and other issues.”
USAGOLD note: When you consider that global oil and gas revenues amount to nearly $6 trillion annually, this roughly $118 billion project, according to Reuters estimates, is small potatoes. However, the fact that invoices will settle in euros carries symbolic political value that reaches beyond the cash involved. Periodically, we get indications of other currencies making inroads into global dollar hegemony but they rarely amount to a real challenge to the greenback’s supremacy. At the same time, that edifice of demand has not deterred erosion of the dollar’s purchasing power over time. That is why a good many nation-states are turning to gold as a long-term hedge.
