Central Banks
Russia’s Embrace of Gold Eases Loss of Reserves Frozen by War
The Bank of Russia is among the top five largest holders of gold among central banks, based on data from the World Gold Council.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Russia is reaping the benefit of a pre-war gold-buying spree that’s helped offset roughly a third of the frozen assets in its rainy-day fund.
The value of Russia’s gold reserves has surged by 72%, or $96 billion, since the beginning of 2022, according to central bank data. The physical amount of gold in the Bank of Russia’s coffers hasn’t changed significantly over the last three years, remaining at around 75 million ounces, data shows.