Russian Central Bank increase purchases of gold

Noam Stiekema

The Russian Central Bank increase purchases of gold this year, to absorb domestic production that Western sanctions make it difficult to sell abroad. The purchases of gold target and increase the liquidity of the foreign exchange reserves. Most of the gold produced in Russia are generally sold to local commercial banks, Sberbank and VTB, which […]

Russian Central Bank

Russian Central BankThe Russian Central Bank increase purchases of gold this year, to absorb domestic production that Western sanctions make it difficult to sell abroad. The purchases of gold target and increase the liquidity of the foreign exchange reserves. Most of the gold produced in Russia are generally sold to local commercial banks, Sberbank and VTB, which can then resell it to the central bank or foreign bank.

This year the foreign banks refrain from purchasing Russian gold since Western powers imposed sanctions against the country because of the Ukrainian crisis. Therefore, the central bank had no choice but to take on domestic production, which can not be sold to foreign banks, two sources indicated. The central bank bought much of the metal that local commercial banks have available.

Although sanctions are not expressly prohibit the western Russian banks to buy gold, they are wary of any business done with their Russian counterparts. Central Bank of Russia significantly accelerate purchases of gold this year, according to the World Gold Council, adding nearly 115 tons to its reserves against 77.5 tons throughout 2013 and 75 tonnes in 2012. The Central banks around the world actively bought gold during the financial crisis in a bid to diversify its foreign exchange reserves, adding 1,800 tons for the six years to June 2014.

The Russian Central Bank was among the most active buyers in the past decade, its stock almost tripled since the end of since 2004 to 1,150 tons, making it the sixth largest holder of gold in the world among central banks. Earlier this month, the first Deputy Governor of the Bank Xenia Yudaeva said that the central bank can use gold reserves to finance imports, if necessary.

Read this next

Digital Assets

Sam Bankman-Fried might see his 25-year sentence halved

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison by a Manhattan court on Thursday. This comes after he was convicted of defrauding customers and investors, with Judge Lewis Kaplan highlighting the potential future risks posed by Bankman-Fried.

Technical Analysis

EURJPY Technical Analysis Report 28 March, 2024

EURJPY currency pair under the bearish pressure after the pair reversed down from the major resistance level 164.25, which also stopped the sharp weekly uptrend at the end of last year,

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Hits $9.9M, MultiversX & MINA Price Predictions Show Green

Read about BlockDAG’s promising $10 prediction and insights on MultiversX Price Prediction as MINA’s potential unfolds.

Digital Assets

Rockstar Co-Founder and All-star Line Up Join Advisory Board to Take Metacade into Post Beta Orbit

Metacade, the revolutionary Web3 gaming platform, prepares to streak out of beta with a slew of ground-breaking initiatives that will redefine the way blockchain games are developed.

Retail FX

Prop firm The Funded Trader shuts down, claims relaunch in April

Prop trading firm The Funded Trader has ceased all operations, with claims for a relaunch in the near future.

Digital Assets

Ethereum-Based Tokenized Real Estate Platform USP Launches On Republic

How This Californian Startup Is Revolutionizing Real Estate Investment through Ethereum-Based Tokenization.

Digital Assets

Sui Spikes in Weekly DEX Volume, Joins Top 10 of All Blockchains

March DEX volume on Sui stands at over $2.88B – up more than 49% from February – with decentralized exchange Cetus and wholesale liquidity layer DeepBook leading.

Digital Assets

Prisma Finance suffers $10 million crypto exploit, attack ongoing

Liquid staking protocol Prisma Finance fell victim to a security exploit on March 28, resulting in nearly $10 million in Prisma mkUSD and wrapped stETH being stolen by hackers.

Digital Assets

Masa and LayerZero: Bridging Blockchains for Data Sovereignty

Masa Network is poised to revolutionize the personal data landscape with its upcoming launch as a cross-chain platform, making it accessible on a variety of blockchains right from the start.

<