Russia adds nearly 12.5 tonnes of gold to reserve

Russia added 400,000 troy ounces of gold to its reserves in July, according to new Figures that the Russian central bank released this week. With the addition of nearly 12.5 metric tons, the country's total gold reserves grow to more than 1,729 metric tons, ranking sixth in the ranking of countries with the largest reserves of the precious metal. Only the United States, Germany, Italy, France and China have more precious metals in their vaults.

In the first seven months of this year, Russia has already added 115 tonnes of the yellow metal to its reserves. If we extrapolate that volume to the rest of the year, gold purchases this year amount to around 200 tonnes, a volume comparable to the past two years. If we look further back, we see that Russia has been expanding its gold reserves for ten years and that this development has been accelerated since 2014. In that year, not only did the price of gold fall, but the tensions between Russia and the 'West' also increased further.

Russia added gold to reserves again in July

Russia has already bought 115 tonnes of gold this year

Russia keeps buying gold

In ten years, Russia has managed to quadruple its gold reserves, partly by buying up a large part of its domestic production. Russia sees gold as a strategic reserve, because the precious metal is independent of the global financial system. Unlike foreign exchange reserves, gold reserves can be traded under all circumstances, including in a scenario where economic sanctions increase and banks can block access to foreign exchange reserves. The precious metal has no counterparty risk and offers a form of diversification in that respect as well.

Russia's central bank's total reserves rose to $418 billion in July, the highest level since December 2014. If we look at the longer term, we see that between 1999 and 2008 the central bank built up enormous foreign exchange reserves, only to have a relatively large amount in the years after the crisis.buy gold In 2008, the central bank had only 2% of its reserves in precious metals, now it is more than 16%. Valued at a Gold price At $1,259 per troy ounce, Russia's total gold reserves now represent a value of $70 billion.

Gold and foreign exchange reserve Russia rise again