Austria has mulled over the possibility of new sanctions against Russia due to the detention of three Ukrainian Navy vessels that sailed toward the Kerch Strait in what Moscow has described as an unequivocal provocation committed in violation of international law. At a secret meeting of the Political and Security Committee in Brussels on Tuesday, French and German diplomats spoke out against stepping up existing EU sanctions against Russia in light of the growing rift between Moscow and Kiev over the Kerch Strait incident. Source: Sputnik
Russia’s Rosneft (ROSN.MM), one of the world’s top oil producers and exporters, has notified customers that future tender contracts for oil products will be denominated in euros not dollars, five trading sources told Reuters.Source Reuters
President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed his support for reinstating Russia into the G7, and French President Emmanuel Macron has agreed with the President that Russia should be invited to the G7 conference in 2020, according to a senior administration official. Source CNN
Germany sold 30-year bonds with a negative yield for the first time at an auction on Wednesday, a milestone for a fixed-income market where the entire curve now yields less than zero. The euro zone’s benchmark bond issuer sold 824 million euros of the new long-dated bonds against a target of 2 billion euros, with an average yield of -0.11%. The coupon on the bond was set at 0% earlier this week. Source Reuters
