Russia's Central Bank Boosted Gold Reserves by 6 Tonnes in May

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest press release issued by the Russian central bank states that the country continued to add to its gold holdings in May this year. Russia added 6 tonnes of gold to its central bank gold reserves during the month.

The purchases were recorded prior to the recent rally in gold prices. As of June 1, 2019, Russian gold holdings totaled 2,190 tonnes, the press release said. The country signaled that it would continue to add more gold to its reserves in the forthcoming months as well.

Incidentally, yellow metal prices had breached $1,400 per Oz level last week, thereby hitting the highest level in almost six years.

According to Gold Demand Trends Q1 2019 Report published by the World Gold Council (WGC), the gold purchases by world central banks recorded strongest Q1 since 2013. The net total purchases amounted to 145.5 tonnes during the quarter.

Russia emerged as the single largest gold buyer in Q1 2019. The share of gold in total foreign reserves of Russia has skyrocketed from nearly 3% in 2008 to just over 19% in Q1 2019. The country has been actively purchasing gold since the beginning of the current year. The year-to-date gold purchases by Russia are estimated at around 77 tonnes. Also, Russia has surpassed India to occupy sixth spot in the list of 10 countries with largest gold reserves, during the past decade.

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Meantime, reports suggest that the Russian central bank plans to launch its own digital currency. According to Chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina, the project cannot be realized immediately. The Bank of Russia, along with various central banks, is studying the possibility, she added.