Russian central bank's daily yuan swap volume hits record high

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's central bank provided banks with a record 19.5 billion yuan ($2.68 billion) on Wednesday under currency swap transactions, data showed, as lenders seek alternative ways to replenish their foreign currency reserves after dollar and euro trading was restricted.

New U.S. sanctions on Russia's key financial infrastructure last month brought exchange trading in dollars and euros to an abrupt halt. The yuan was already the most-traded foreign currency in Moscow as Russia moves away from what it considers "unfriendly" and "toxic" Western currencies.

The central bank doubled the yuan swap limit to 20 billion yuan after those sanctions were imposed. The daily volume of 19.5 billion yuan for 231.5 billion roubles ($2.65 billion) was the highest volume since the swap instrument was launched in January 2023, central bank data showed.

The central bank provides FX swaps on a repayable basis from reserve assets, half of which were frozen by the West in 2022.

($1 = 7.2734 Chinese yuan renminbi)

($1 = 87.5000 roubles)

(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Alex Richardson)