Economics

Bond Sanctions Could Hurt Russia More Than It's Letting On

Economists forecast yield jump of as much as 150 basis points
U.S. considering extending sanctions to Russian sovereign debt

An employee walks across the top of an oil storage tank at night in the custody transfer facility at the Salym Petroleum Development oil fields near the Bazhenov shale formation in Salym, Russia, on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014. Salym Petroleum Development, the venture between Shell and Gazprom Neft, has started drilling the first of five horizontal wells over the next two years that will employ multi-fracturing technology, according to a statement today.Photographer: Andrey Rudakov

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By Andre Tartar and Anya Andrianova

November 27, 2017 at 8:38 AM UTC

Updated on

November 27, 2017 at 2:59 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Russian officials say they’re not worried about possible new U.S. sanctions on the country’s sovereign debt. Economists aren’t buying it.

Borrowing costs will rise by between 50 basis points and 150 basis points if the U.S. extends sanctions to bar its citizens from buying new Russian domestic government debt, according to the majority of respondents in a Bloomberg survey. The Russian central bank estimates yields will stabilize 30 basis points to 40 basis points higher after an initial spike.