Venezuela Central Bank Gold Reserves Slumped to Hit 50-Year Low

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest data published by the Venezuela central bank suggests significant decline in gold reserves during the initial six-month period of the current year.

The gold reserves witnessed outflow of 3 tonnes during this period, taking the total gold reserves to the lowest level in almost 50 years, said central bank data. The Nicolas Maduro administration continued to sell gold as a source of income, to deal with the grave financial crunch situation. It must be noted that the country’s gold reserves had dropped by 19 tonnes during the previous year.

The gold reserves stood at 83 tonnes at the end of June this year. These were valued at $4.9 billion, registering a decline of $187 million from the previous year. The buyers of Venezuela’s gold were not disclosed by the bank. However, as per opposition claims, some of these gold were sold to Mali and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in exchange for hard currency.

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The country’s gold reserves had exceeded 300 tonnes for several decades. However, following sanctions imposed by world community and the subsequent economic crisis, the government began swapping gold reserves for bank loans.