Russia Explains Why It Liquidated

As we detailed here first, during the months of April and May, as the Yuan-denominated oil futures were launched, trade war threats escalated, and sanctions were unleashed, Russia liquidated almost 90% of its US Treasury holdings.

The question most had was simple – why?

Speculation ran the gamut from this action being a dress-rehearsal – carefully coordinated with Beijing to field test what would happen if/when China also starts to liquidate its own Treasury holdings; to forced sales to cove...