Russia’s gold reserves exceeded 200 billion USD for the first time, in the context of precious metal prices continuously peaking last month.
The Central Bank of Russia announced last weekend that the value of the country’s gold reserves increased by 4% last month, to 207.7 billion USD as of November 1. This number exceeds the old record set in September. RIA Novosti said.
The proportion of gold in Russia’s international reserves also increased to the highest since November 1999, with 32.9%. The highest level in the country’s history was 56.9% in 1993.
An employee holds a gold bar at a factory in Kasimov (Russia). Image: Reuters
Last month, world gold prices increased by 4% and continuously peaked. At one point, the precious metal approached $2,800 an ounce. Prices in the past few days have also fluctuated greatly due to the US Presidential election and the interest rate decision of the Federal Reserve (Fed).
Russia is currently in the group of 10 countries with the largest gold reserves in the world. Statistics from the World Gold Council (WGC) show that by the end of the second quarter of 2024, Russia owns 2,335 tons of gold. The leading country is the US with 8,133 tons.
The Central Bank of Russia said that the country’s international reserves as of November 1 were 631.6 billion USD, down 2.1 billion USD compared to the previous month. Nearly half of Russia’s reserves have been blocked by the West since early 2022, after the war in Ukraine broke out. However, the Central Bank of Russia has never announced details about which accounts were frozen. The unfrozen reserves include gold and foreign currencies stored domestically, such as the Chinese yuan.
Governor of the Central Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina said the frozen reserves do not affect Russia’s financial stability. Over the past few years, the country has diversified its foreign exchange reserves and carried out operations with reserves not affected by sanctions. Russia has also repeatedly declared that the West’s blockade of these assets is illegal and warned of retaliation if confiscated.