Russia added gold to reserves again in April

Russia added gold to its reserves again in April, according to the latest Figures of the central bank. In the month of April, Russia bought an additional 300,000 troy ounces of gold, which was added to the Gold price of that period, represents a value of more than €300 million. With this purchase, total gold holdings will increase from Russia to 40.1 million troy ounces (approximately 1,247 tons) of gold.

Russia has had an active policy of buying gold since 2006. In the space of ten years, the country managed to increase its total gold reserves from less than 300 tons to more than 1,200 tons, a fourfold increase. Also, since 2006, the precious metal has been valued at the market value of gold, whereas previously it was valued at a historically fixed rate of $300 per troy ounce.

Russia keeps buying gold

This year, too, Russia remains Buy gold. In January and February there was still a short respite, but in March the Russians struck again by no less than Add 30 tonnes of gold to their reserves. The central bank is maintaining this pace, as the purchase of 300,000 troy ounces translates to 9.33 tonnes. This is almost as much as the average over the first three months.

Last year, no central bank came close to the amount of gold the central bank bought from Russia. This year, Russia is once again the largest buyer of the precious metal. The central bank buys a lot of gold from the gold mines in its own country. The gold mining sector of Russia produces more than 250 tonnes of gold annually, enough to meet domestic demand.

Foreign exchange reserves

While Russia buy gold, the foreign exchange reserves are being reduced. Since the beginning of 2014, the total foreign exchange reserve has fallen from more than $457 million to less than $308 million, a decrease of more than 30%. In the same period, the value of the gold stock increased from $41.7 million to $48.3 million, despite a small decrease in the price of gold. The following chart shows the development of the gold price and the total value of the Russian gold reserve.

Gold and foreign exchange reserve Russia

Development of gold stocks Russia