Last month, the Central Bank of Russia sold about 100 thousand ounces of gold from international reserves. This amounts to about 2-3 tons, the format of the data provided by the regulator does not allow to translate more precisely, Interfax notes.
For the first time in recent years, the Central Bank sold gold in July and September, but then the volume of sales, according to the International Monetary Fund, was 10 thousand ounces and 30 thousand. Thus, sales have accelerated since the beginning of the year.
The last time the gold reserves of Russia decreased in 2007. And since 2008, the Central Bank has been steadily buying gold. Since 2014, when the sanctions war began, the purchase rate has doubled. In 2018, Russia’s gold reserves became the sixth in the world. However, in 2020, its volume grew by only 0.9 million ounces.
As of early January, gold reserves in Russia amount to 73.8 million ounces. Its value in reserves dropped 1.4 percent to $ 136.8 billion.
Earlier it was reported that in 2020 Russian exports collapsed by 20.7 percent, or $ 88.1 billion, to $ 338.2 billion.
At the same time, the volume of non-resource non-energy exports (NOE) unexpectedly increased. Such indicators were achieved due to the increased export of gold from the country. During the year, Russia exported the precious metal for a total of $ 18.5 billion. This is three times more than in 2019. The inclusion of gold in the statistics will make it easier for the government to meet the government’s goal of almost doubling NOE exports by 2024.