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Russia resumes buying gold. IMF data shows gold reserves at the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) rose by 3 tonnes (≈ 100,000 oz) in August. This means that its gold reserves are back to where they were at the start of the year - 2,333 tonnes.

Russia officially holds the world's fifth-largest sovereign gold stockpile.

Gold reserves in $

🇺🇸 US: $487.98 billion
🇩🇪 Germany: $201.3 billion
🇮🇹 Italy: $147.12 billion
🇫🇷 France: $146.22 billion
🇷🇺 Russia: $139.8 billion
🇨🇳 China: $126.78 billion
🇨🇭 Switzerland: $62.4 billion
🇯🇵 Japan: $50.76 billion
🇮🇳 India: $47.82 billion

— World of Finance (@FinancesWorld) September 19, 2023

Although Russia's primary objective is to bolster its gold reserves as a strategy to mitigate Western sanctions related to its invasion of Ukraine and to support a potential gold-backed BRICS currency, the nation has found itself compelled to tap into its gold reserves for settling global transactions and addressing budget shortfalls. In May, the Central Bank of Russia sold 4 tonnes of gold from the National Wealth Fund (NWF) accounts to raise additional money. In March, the CBR sold 3.1 tonnes of gold as the precious metal started a major rally. Previously undisclosed data on Russia’s monthly gold holdings dating back to February 2022 was also released, showing a 28-tonne increase during that period.

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