The currency now makes up more than half of Moscow’s export settlements, according to statistics The share of ruble transactions in Russia’s foreign trade, particularly with the rest of Europe, has been steadily growing, hitting record highs in March, according to data from the country’s central bank.

Global consumption is expected to rise sharply by year’s end, resulting in the biggest demand-supply gap in decades The world is on the brink of a major silver supply shortage this year, the Silver Institute, a US-based agency monitoring the metal, said in its latest report.

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