Russia’s gold reserves witnessed a significant increase in August, reaching $188.8 billion. In its latest report, the country’s central bank revealed that the value of gold reserves rose by over $9 billion or 5.1 percent since the beginning of August.
For the first time in a quarter-century, the share of the precious metal in the country’s international reserves has exceeded 30 percent.
In 2023, Russia’s gold reserves increased to 2,350 tons. In December 2023 alone, Russia increased its holdings of gold by 34.6 tons from the previous month and their value reached $155.9 billion, the Central Bank of Russia said. At that time, Russia’s gold reserves made up 26 percent of its international reserves.
Rising gold prices bolster reserve value
The rise in the value of Russia’s gold reserves came as global gold prices increased by 3.6 percent, closing last month at $2,513 per ounce.
Following the outbreak of the war with Ukraine, the U.S. and its allies prohibited transactions with Russia’s central bank and finance ministry, blocking around $300 billion of assets in the West.
Similar to other central banks, the Russian central bank placed some of its gold and foreign exchange reserves in liquid assets such as major currencies, gold and government bonds. About half of those reserves were in the West. Total Russian foreign currency and gold reserves totaled $612 billion at the time.
Central bank buying remains strong
“Central banks have shown an ongoing commitment to accumulating gold in recent months. While the overall level of reported demand has cooled as the gold price has continued to rally to new record highs, it has nonetheless remained positive,” stated the World Gold Council in a recent report.
In July, global central banks added a net 37 tons to official reserves. This represents a 206 percent monthly increase and the highest monthly total since January (45 tons).
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