Russia held its biggest gold sale since 1998 to fill the government budget. The Bank of Russia continues for the tenth month in a row to sell gold from its reserves as part of operations to cover the budget deficit, which this year will double its original plans - 7.3 trillion rubles. As the Russian Central Bank reported this week, in September, Russia's gold reserves fell by another 0.2 million troy ounces (about 6.2 tons), and their total size fell to 72.8 million ounces - the lowest value since the end of 2019. Since December, when the central bank began its biggest sell-off in decades, gold in its reserves has fallen by 2 million troy ounces. About 62 tons. According to statistics from the International Monetary Fund, only once in modern history has Russia sold its gold reserves faster: in 1998, amid a default, currency crisis and collapse of the government bond pyramid (Learn), the central bank sold 3.8 million troy ounces of gold (118 tons) in three months. True, by the end of the year some of the bars were bought back, and during the year the central bank's gold reserves decreased by 1.6 million ounces (about 50 tons) - that is, less than in the current year. After that, the Kremlin accumulated gold only in reserves, and since the late 1990s it has increased its gold reserves more than fivefold. At the beginning of 2022, it amounted to 74 million troy ounces, or 2.3 thousand tons, and was the fifth largest in the world. The sale that began at the end of last year, which made the Russian central bank the largest seller of gold among all the central banks in the world, is related to the "mirroring" of operations that the Ministry of Finance previously carried out with the assets of the National Welfare Fund, Reuters points out: the central bank is selling on the market the gold of the NWF, which the Ministry of Finance previously sold to close the budget deficit. "The Ministry of Finance uses accumulated reserves (including gold) to cover the budget deficit when there is a lack of income.

Russia held its biggest gold sale since 1998 to fill the government budget. The Bank of Russia continues for the tenth month in a row to sell gold from its reserves as part of operations to cover the budget deficit, which this year will double its original plans - 7.3 trillion rubles. As the Russian Central Bank reported this week, in September, Russia's gold reserves fell by another 0.2 million troy ounces (about 6.2 tons), and their total size fell to 72.8 million ounces - the lowest value since the end of 2019. Since December, when the central bank began its biggest sell-off in decades, gold in its reserves has fallen by 2 million troy ounces. About 62 tons. According to statistics from the International Monetary Fund, only once in modern history has Russia sold its gold reserves faster: in 1998, amid a default, currency crisis and collapse of the government bond pyramid (Learn), the central bank sold 3.8 million troy ounces of gold (118 tons) in three months. True, by the end of the year some of the bars were bought back, and during the year the central bank's gold reserves decreased by 1.6 million ounces (about 50 tons) - that is, less than in the current year. After that, the Kremlin accumulated gold only in reserves, and since the late 1990s it has increased its gold reserves more than fivefold. At the beginning of 2022, it amounted to 74 million troy ounces, or 2.3 thousand tons, and was the fifth largest in the world. The sale that began at the end of last year, which made the Russian central bank the largest seller of gold among all the central banks in the world, is related to the "mirroring" of operations that the Ministry of Finance previously carried out with the assets of the National Welfare Fund, Reuters points out: the central bank is selling on the market the gold of the NWF, which the Ministry of Finance previously sold to close the budget deficit. "The Ministry of Finance uses accumulated reserves (including gold) to cover the budget deficit when there is a lack of income.