Russia's Central Bank Cuts Gold Reserves by a Record Amount — Bloomberg
Russia has begun selling off its gold reserves at the fastest pace in more than 20 years.
This is reported with reference to data from Bloomberg analysts.
Since the beginning of the year, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation has sold nearly 28 tons of the precious metal for approximately $4.3 billion. In this way, the Russian government is attempting to cover the state budget deficit. This marks the largest reduction in the country’s gold reserves since 2002.
The publication’s analysts note that as of May 1, Russia’s gold reserves had fallen to 2,298 tons. This figure is the lowest since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Bloomberg noted that the Bank of Russia was once the world’s largest sovereign buyer of gold, purchasing nearly the country’s entire output. This trend ended in early 2020. Two years later, a promise to resume purchases helped absorb some of the supplies that could no longer be exported due to sanctions, but large-scale purchases never resumed.
As Bloomberg notes, the Russian regulator is forced to sell off gold due to falling oil and gas revenues. The proceeds from the sales are being used to finance the state budget deficit and prop up the ruble’s exchange rate.
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