Russia sets new record in gold reserves

Russia's gold reserves reached a new record in August as they amounted to $188.8 billion. Their share in international assets exceeded 30 percent for the first time in almost 25 years, the Central Bank of Russia said.

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As of September 1, 2024, Russia's international reserves grew to $613.7 billion, up from $602.05 billion as of August 1.

In August, Russia increased its gold investments by 5.1 percent, bringing them to a record $188.8 billion. The previous record was set a month earlier at $179.5 billion.

As a result, the share of gold in total reserves grew to 30.8 percent, which was higher than the July figure of 29.8 percent. This level was the highest since January 2000, when the share of monetary gold amounted to 31.2 percent.

Russia reported the highest share of gold in reserves on January 1, 1993 when they amounted to 56.9 percent. The lowest was reported in in June 2007 — only 2.1 percent.

The World Gold Council's recent report noted that central banks of various countries continued to increase their gold reserves in the second quarter of 2024.

According to the data presented, Poland became the leader in increasing gold reserves in the second quarter, having purchased 18.68 tons of gold.

India was ranked second with the purchase of 18.67 tons — the same amount of gold the country purchased in the first quarter of this year. It is believed that India will continue to increase its gold reserves to ensure greater stability of its financial system, since the share of gold in its reserves at the end of the second quarter was just over 13 percent.

Turkey came in third. Ankara purchased 14.63 tons of gold in the second quarter of 2024. In the first quarter, Turkey took the lead in gold purchases overtaking China with a total increase of 30.12 tons.

Fourth and fifth places were taken by Uzbekistan and the Czech Republic. The two countries increased their gold reserves by 7.4 tons and 5.9 tons, respectively.

However, not all countries chose to invest in gold. Some countries took advantage of the high price level to sell it. For example, Kazakhstan sold 11.83 tons of gold in the second quarter, and Singapore — 7.75 tons.

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Gold is a chemical element; it has symbol Au (from Latin aurum) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal, a group 11 element, and one of the noble metals. It is one of the least reactive chemical elements, being the second-lowest in the reactivity series. It is solid under standard conditions.

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Russian: Центральный банк Российской Федерации), which brands itself as Bank of Russia (Russian: Банк России) and is also commonly referred to in English as the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), is the central bank of the Russian Federation. The bank was established on July 13, 1990. It claims the legacy of the State Bank of the Russian Empire (1860-1920) and of the Soviet Gosbank (1921-1991), even though both institutions covered a significant larger territorial scope. The bank is headquartered on Neglinnaya Street in Moscow. Its functions are described in the Constitution of Russia (Article 75) and in federal law.