Russia’s central bank has been selling gold from its reserves for 10 consecutive months amid a growing budget deficit. In 2026, it could reach 7.3 trillion rubles—twice as much as initially forecast. The Moscow Times reports, according to UNN.
Details
In September, Russia’s gold reserves fell by 6.2 tonnes, while the total volume of reserves declined to 72.8 million troy ounces—the lowest level since the end of 2019.
Since December last year, the central bank has sold around 62 tonnes of gold. This is more than during the entire crisis-ridden 1998, when Russia’s gold reserves fell by approximately 50 tonnes.
Why Russia is actively selling gold
According to Reuters, the sales are linked to the use of assets from the National Wealth Fund to cover the budget deficit. Due to declining oil and gas revenues, the Russian authorities have been forced to spend their accumulated reserves more actively.
At the same time, China is increasing its purchases of Russian gold. From January to July, around 100 tonnes of precious metal from Russia were imported through Hong Kong—three times more than during the same period last year.
After the London market was closed to Russian gold, exporters redirected shipments to Asia. According to Financial Times estimates, $35 billion worth of Russian gold has been exported through Hong Kong since the beginning of the full-scale war.