Russia's Gold & Currency Reserves Surpass $500 Billion Mark

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has revealed that Moscow's foreign exchange and gold reserves amount to approximately $502.7 billion by 7 June, having increased by about 1.5 per cent during the past week.

As the bank's officials have explained to local media, this development was made possible mostly due to “positive revaluation and the purchases of foreign currency within the framework of the budget rule».

Last month, the World Gold Council reported that net purchase of gold by the Russian Central Bank was the highest in the first quarter of 2019. It bought 55.3 tonnes and brought the country's gold reserves to 2,168.3 tonnes, while dramatically reducing its US Treasury holdings as part of its de-dollarisation plans.

Russian Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina, has on multiple occasions stressed that the country has been diversifying its foreign exchange reserves more than other states due to the economic and political risks that it faces.

In 2018, CBR moved to decrease the share of US dollar in the bank's reserves, cutting its US bond holding and increasing its gold reserves instead.