Russia begins selling gold on domestic market — Intelligence Service
The Russian Central Bank has, for the first time, directly sold gold from its reserves on the domestic market, providing access to banks, state-owned companies, and selected investment entities.
This was reported by the Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU).
According to the report, these sales are a forced measure by the regulator, as gold “is effectively being used to support the ruble, patch corporate liquidity, and cover budgetary needs amid the rapid depletion of other resources.”
Before 2025, the Central Bank of Russia did not sell gold to commercial market participants, receiving it only from the Ministry of Finance to build its reserves. Currently, the regulator has begun liquidating metal holdings.
Meanwhile, Russia’s National Wealth Fund is rapidly losing liquid assets, dropping from $113.5 billion in 2022 to $51.6 billion in 2025. Gold reserves in the fund have fallen by 57%, from 405.7 tons to 173.1 tons.
SZRU forecasts that in 2025, gold sales could reach $30 billion (around 230 tons), and in 2026 at least $15 billion (115 tons).
The intelligence service emphasizes that such large-scale monetization of reserves accelerates depletion, which is already under pressure from sanctions and declining access to foreign currency instruments. “The strategy of selling gold may allow the budget to be supported quickly and stabilize the ruble, but it creates long-term risks: deepening the deficit of liquid reserves, increasing dependence of state finances on asset liquidation, and limiting options for future interventions,” SZRU noted.
Gold prices fell on Thursday, 27 November, following a nearly two-week peak.
