Sanctions were supposed to crush the Russian ruble. Why did it hit 2-month high?

> India, for example, has dramatically increased its Russian oil imports. "Energy security [comes] first. If the fuel is available at a discount, why shouldn't [we] buy it?" India's finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, said at a CNBC event on Friday. "We have started buying…[and] have received quite a number of barrels. This will continue."

This made me research India’s policy on Russia’s invasion because the answer seems obvious. If you disagree with the invasion than that is why they shouldn’t buy it with the ruble. But it appears India is staying rather neutral.

Because they would rather have cheap Russian gas than righteous indignation. I suppose the fact that they’re a relatively poor developing nation helps swing the balance.

The interesting question is how lenders will react to a US forced Russian default.

Will they see Russia as a risky bet, or simply avoid relying on US banks to facilitate the loan?

I don’t see how anything else could have happened. Can’t buy foreign goods. Can’t accept foreign currency. Still selling oil and gas, so have to take payment in rubles. Ergo…

I don’t know maybe it’s not as obvious as that.