The Bank of Russia has continued selling gold from its reserves for the tenth consecutive month as part of operations to cover the budget deficit, which this year is expected to be twice as large as originally planned, reaching 7.3 trillion roubles.
According to data published by the Central Bank on Tuesday, Russia's gold reserves fell by another 0.2 million troy ounces (approximately 6.2 tonnes) in September, bringing the total down to 72.8 million ounces — the lowest level since late 2019.
Since December, when the Central Bank began its largest gold sell-off in several decades, its reserves have declined by 2 million troy ounces, or approximately 62 tonnes.
According to statistics from the International Monetary Fund, Russia has sold gold from its reserves at a faster pace only once in its modern history.
In 1998, against the backdrop of a sovereign default, a currency crisis and the collapse of the government bond (GKO) pyramid, the Central Bank sold 3.8 million troy ounces of gold (118 tonnes) over three months.
However, some of the gold bars were repurchased by the end of the year, and the Central Bank's gold reserves declined by 1.6 million ounces (approximately 50 tonnes) over the year — less than the reduction recorded this year.
In subsequent years, the Kremlin only accumulated gold in its reserves, increasing its holdings more than fivefold since the late 1990s.
By the beginning of 2022, Russia's gold reserves stood at 74 million troy ounces, or 2,300 tonnes, making them the fifth-largest in the world.
