Russia's gold reserves fell to 73.2 million troy ounces (about 2,280 tonnes) as of August 1, the lowest level since January 2020, according to data from the Central Bank cited by Bloomberg. The stock has declined for six consecutive months.
Since the start of 2026, reserves have dropped by 1.6 million ounces, with July alone seeing a reduction of 0.2 million ounces, the agency calculated. According to Reuters, the Central Bank sold about 50 tonnes of gold on the domestic market since January.
The decline is linked to the Finance Ministry's operations with funds from the National Wealth Fund (NWF), sources said. When oil and gas revenues fall below the level set by the budget rule, or when the fund's money is directed to domestic investment, the Central Bank conducts offsetting operations with liquid reserve assets, Vladimir Chernov, an analyst at Freedom Global, explained in comments cited by The Moscow Times.
Gold proved one of the most convenient assets for such operations because most of it is stored inside Russia and remains accessible to the Central Bank, The Moscow Times wrote. The ability to use currency reserves is limited after about $300 billion of Russian assets were frozen abroad, the outlet noted. Economists Alexandra Prokopenko and Alexander Kolyandr previously said the Central Bank does not want to "burn through" its remaining yuan reserves.
A comparable reduction in gold reserves was last recorded in 2002, when the stock fell by 36.1 tonnes over six months, according to the World Gold Council. In 2026, the reduction over seven months amounted to about 50 tonnes.