India Expands De-dollarization Push by Settling Trade With UAE in Rupees

India and the United Arab Emirates will now settle bilateral trade in local currencies, beginning with a recent crude oil transaction that was completed in rupees that could bolster the region’s de-dollarization campaign.

Indian rupee notes at a bank in Kolkata on July 15. India unveiled a symbol for its rupee currency that it hopes will become as globally recognized as signs for the dollar, the yen, the pound and the euro. Deshakalan Chowdhury/Getty Images

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will begin settling bilateral trade in local currencies, starting the new arrangement by completing a recent rupee-denominated crude oil payment.

Indian Oil Corp., the nation’s top crude refiner, purchased 1 million barrels of oil from Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and made payment in rupees rather than U.S. dollars, according to a statement published by India’s embassy in the UAE.