{"id":282466,"date":"2026-02-13T16:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T16:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/282466\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T16:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T16:29:10","slug":"russias-external-debt-hits-20-year-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/282466\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia\u2019s External Debt Hits 20-Year High"},"content":{"rendered":"

Russia\u2019s external debt has reached nearly $62 billion, data published<\/a> by the Finance Ministry on Thursday showed, marking its highest level in two decades as Moscow is forced to borrow more money to finance the war against Ukraine.<\/p>\n

As of Feb. 1, foreign investors held $61.97 billion in Russian government debt. The majority of those holdings are long-term bonds.<\/p>\n

It marks the highest figure since Russia\u2019s external debt hit $76.5 billion on Jan. 1, 2006. After dropping to $52 billion in January 2007, Russia\u2019s external debt has not since exceeded $60 billion.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Central Bank, meanwhile, estimates<\/a> the total combined state and private external debt increased by 10.4%\u00a0in 2025, reaching\u00a0$319.8 billion.<\/p>\n

Policymakers attributed the growth to new debt financing and a stronger ruble, which increased the valuation of dollar-denominated obligations.<\/p>\n

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Domestic borrowing has also increased. The Finance Ministry estimates that Russia\u2019s total consolidated internal debt reached<\/a> 34.81 trillion rubles ($498 billion) at the start of 2026. That includes federally issued bonds, intergovernmental loans and other securities.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s internal debt has increased as the Finance Ministry issues high-yield OFZ federal loan bonds to cover the 2025 budget deficit of 5.7 trillion rubles ($74.1 billion).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yields on 10-year Russian government bonds stood<\/a> at 14.63% on Thursday, down 0.26% from two days before.<\/p>\n

In January alone, Russia\u2019s budget deficit jumped<\/a> to nearly half of its full-year 2026 target of 3.8 trillion rubles ($49.4 billion).<\/p>\n

President Vladimir Putin has hailed<\/a> Russia\u2019s state debt of 17.7% of GDP as one of the world\u2019s lowest and said it is unlikely to rise above 20% over the next three years.<\/p>\n

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