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Venezuela has already exported $779 million worth of gold to Turkey this year, according to new figures from the Turkish government. It would involve just over 20 tons of unrefined gold, originating from gold mines in Venezuela. This move is remarkable, as the South American country did not export any bullion to Turkey in previous years.
Venezuelan Mining Minister Victor Cano said in a statement that Venezuela's central bank is now sending its precious metal to Turkey instead of Switzerland, fearing new sanctions that could hinder the transport of gold to Switzerland.
According to Cano, the precious metal will return to the central bank of Venezuela after smelting and purification, but we do not yet see that reflected in the figures. Turkey did not export a similar amount of gold back to the South American country. In recent years, the country's central bank has had to sell part of its precious metal stock to replenish foreign exchange reserves. These are needed to import goods from abroad.
Reuters writes that Venezuela's central bank is now buying gold from domestic mines to replenish its monetary reserves. According to Minister Cano, she has already bought 17.6 tonnes of precious metal in this way this year. These would be unrefined gold bars with a content ranging from 88 to 98 percent. These are not yet reflected in the official gold reserves.
Venezuela is one of the few countries that has had to sell gold on a large scale in recent years. Until a few years ago, the central bank had a reserve of about 360 tonnes of precious metals, today only 150 tonnes remain. Due to hyperinflation and the economic crisis, the central bank had to draw on its reserves to be able to import necessary goods.
Venezuela has been hit hard by the fall in oil prices in recent years, as it depends on oil for a large part of its income. The loss of this income led to an acute scarcity of foreign currency.
Venezuela's gold supply is shrinking (Source: Trading Economics)
