MOSCOW, December 27. /TASS/. Russia’s Finance Ministry intends to replenish the National Wealth Fund (NWF) in yuan as part of the budget rule, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters on Tuesday.

"From January next year, the budget rule will work. <…> We will make an assessment of monthly indicators. Accordingly, we will make a decision on replenishing or not replenishing the NWF and in what currency: in rubles, in yuan, and so on. In order to hedge exchange rate risks, we always did it in foreign currency. Among the currencies of friendly countries, the yuan has the characteristics of a reserve currency and sufficient liquidity on our domestic foreign exchange market to the greatest extent. Therefore, the NWF will be replenished in this currency," Siluanov said.

In November, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a new budget rule. This new rule will be eased to accommodate higher budget spending for 2023-2024. Under the law, the volume of basic oil and gas revenues that can be spent on expenses in 2023-2025 is 8 trillion rubles ($114 bln).