A 30-day grace period ends for Russian two lots of bonds. The payment must be made in USD otherwise the bond will officially have defaulted. Russia has tried to make payments in roubles, which is not include in the terms of the securities. Further, investors don’t want Russian roubles as most Western countries have sanctions preventing their exchange.
If payment is not remedied by the 4th of May, Russia will officially have defaulted on the bonds. Moody’s ratings agency has already speculated that Russia might have already technically defaulted on the bonds.
The bond market is currently experiencing its third worst period in modern times, beaten only by the 2008 financial crisis and 1980’s inflation. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian bonds were deemed Investment Grade. A default on government bonds and dramatic deterioration in Russian corporate bonds could send the bond markets down further, increasing risk off sentiment in global financial markets.
