European Commission says EU companies can pay for gas in rubles

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• The European Commission said Friday that EU companies may be able to comply with Russia's proposed gas payment system, without running afoul of sanctions against Moscow.
• Shortly following the war in Ukraine, President Putin issued a decree mandating that Russian gas exports to "unfriendly" nations be paid for in rubles.
• Several EU leaders pushed back on the decree, indicating it would mark a contract violation, and insisting that gas transactions be settled in euros or dollars.
• Friday's comment from the Commission could bolster Russia's domestic currency market, which has now fully recovered from the invasion-induced selloff.
• The EU has proposed banning both Russian coal (BTU) and Russian oil imports (USO) (XLE) in coming months; however, the concession on currency payments likely points to continued Russian gas flows (EQNR) (SHEL) (VET) (NRT) for the duration of 2022.