Russia's gold and forex reserves have hit the 487.8 billion dollars mark, breaking a five-year record on 1 April, when the figure stood at 486 billion dollars, according to the Russian Central Bank’s fresh data.
This comes as the bank continued its record-breaking streak of gold purchases into the first two months of 2019, bringing Russia’s total gold reserves to nearly 2,150 tonnes.
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Gold already accounts for close to 20 percent of Russia's total foreign exchange reserves, with the dollar dropping from a whopping 46 percent of reserves in mid-2017 to 22 percent in 2019.
The United States and Germany possessing 8,133.5 tonnes and 3,369.7 tonnes, respectively hold the first two positions.
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Russian Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina has repeatedly stated that the regulator pursues a policy of diversifying the investments of international reserves, taking into account all the risks, including financial, economic and geopolitical ones.