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Russia has cut its gold reserves for six consecutive months, marking a shift from its 20-year gold accumulation cycle to a "fiscal replenishment tool".

3 hours ago

Russia is reducing its gold reserves, breaking the more than 20-year trend of continuous gold accumulation the country has maintained. Since the start of this year, Russia’s official gold reserves have declined for six consecutive months, falling by approximately 43.5 tons as of early July to their lowest level since 2022. Data shows Russia’s current gold reserve stands at around 73.4 million troy ounces (about 2,282 tons), valued at roughly $299 billion. Meanwhile, Russia’s total international reserves dropped from $747.4 billion at the end of May to $720.4 billion at the end of June, with foreign exchange reserves remaining largely stable, indicating the reserve decline is mainly driven by gold assets. Analysts attribute Russia’s gold sales primarily to growing fiscal pressure. Fuelled by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, falling energy revenues and expanded government spending, Russia’s budget deficit widened to around 4.6 trillion rubles as of the end of March. Some of the gold may have been sold to domestic banks or converted into foreign exchange to ease fiscal and liquidity pressures. Previously, Russia was a major buyer in the global gold market for a long period. Between 2002 and 2025, Russia accumulated over 1,900 tons of gold, with only a notable reduction in 2005 over the past 24 years. The current sell-off comes amid high gold prices; Russia’s central bank previously stated it sold part of its gold reserves after gold prices broke through the historical high of $5,500 per ounce. Analysts believe Russia is not abandoning its gold strategy, but rather converting gold from long-term reserve assets to accessible funding sources amid fiscal strain.

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