Russia's ruble dropped nearly 5% against the yuan earlier this week, Reuters noted. The drop came shortly after Russia's finance ministry suggested the Central Bank of Russia would shrink its daily yuan sales, with central bankers selling just $200 million a day, down from the $7.3 billion sold daily in the last month. Sberbank, a large state-owned lender in Russia, told Reuters it could no longer lend in yuan because it had "nothing to cover" the trade.

Chinese banks are more hesitant to trade currency in Russia after the US threatened to impose secondary sanctions on countries doing business with Russia while it continues its war against Ukraine.

Payment scuffles between Russian companies and Chinese banks have escalated in recent weeks, with nearly all Chinese banks stopping transactions with Russia. Some banks have even returned payments for goods that had already been sent to Russia, out of fear of being targeted by sanctions, a Russian media outlet reported.

Russian banks say they've run out of yuan as Chinese firms pull away from the nation

Payment scuffles between Russian companies and Chinese banks have escalated in recent weeks, with Chinese firms pulling back amid fear of sanctions.

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