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Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2026

 

MUMBAI – The Bank of Russia has sold 21.8 tonnes of gold so far in 2026 to help finance the country's budget deficit, which reached $61.2 billion by the end of March, KITCO reported, citing reports from Russian and Ukrainian sources. As of Apr. 1, the country's gold reserves stood at 2,304.76 tonnes, including a decline of 6.22 tonnes in March alone, KITCO, a premier Canadian-based retailer of precious metals and a major provider of live precious metals prices, news, and market analysis, reported.

 

"Sales to finance the budget deficit may continue amid a sharp increase in government spending compared to budget targets," Natalia Milchakova, lead analyst at Freedom Finance Global, said in a comment to Reuters. "Such sales of gold from reserves by the Central Bank of Russia are entirely consistent with what other central banks are doing, especially in developing countries." 

 

At the same time, domestic demand for gold in Russia has surged owing to the country's economic struggles in the fifth year of its war in Ukraine. According to the Moscow Exchange, the volume of gold transactions in March jumped more than 350% on year, totalling 42.6 tonnes--28.6 tonnes in swap transactions and 14 tonnes in spot transactions. With the Russian ruble's decline, the increase was more dramatic: up 500% from the previous year, reaching 534.4 billion rubles, or $7.1 billion.

 

"Currently, a number of central banks continue to sell gold due to the need to cover expenses, including defence costs," KITCO quoted Finam analyst Nikolai Dudchenko as saying. The money is also used to cover "rising energy prices and to support national currency exchange rates", he said.

 

On Feb. 20, the Bank of Russia had announced it had sold 300,000 ounces of gold from its reserves in January as prices hit a record high of $5,645.6 per ounce, lowering its total holdings to 74.5 million ounces. This was the first decline in Russia's gold reserves since October, according to the report.  End

 

US$1 = INR 93.79

 

Reported by Reshma Ravi

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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