Russia expands gold reserves by $350 million in June

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

FXStreet (Mumbai) - Russia currently holds more gold than it had a year ago as its central bank has continued its effort of rebuilding its reserves including foreign currency and precious metal purchases, as Reuters reports.

On the other hand, Russia has been steadily reducing its holdings of some other assets, including US Treasury bills.

The Bank of Russia (CBR), the country's central bank, expanded its gold reserves by $350 million last month to $48.229 billion, according to official data from the monetary authority. Gold accounted for 13.3% of its total reserves at the end of June, compared to 9.7% in June 2014.

CBR First Deputy Governor Dmitry Tulin said in May that the central bank will boost its gold holdings as the asset is safe from "legal and political risks."

Tulin added, “As you know we are increasing our gold holdings, although this comes with market risks, the price of it swings, but on the other hand it is a 100% guarantee from legal and political risks."

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

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