As of May 1, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) holds 73.9 million ounces of gold bars in international reserves. In just one month, gold reserves have decreased by 200,000 ounces, bringing the total decrease since the beginning of 2026 to 900,000 ounces. Accordingly, CBR's total gold reserves have fallen to their lowest level since March 2022.
In tons, the central bank of Russia lost 27.9 tons of gold in the period from January to April, marking the sharpest decrease in national gold reserves since 2002, according to data from the World Gold Council (WGC). In May 2002, CBR witnessed gold holdings falling by 41.5 tons in just one month.
For the next 24 years, the Central Bank of Russia was primarily a gold buyer, regularly adding hundreds of tons each year and never selling more than 100,000 ounces, equivalent to about 3.1 tons of gold, in a month. The only exception was July 2005, when 7.7 tons of gold were deducted from the bank's balance sheet.
CBR is selling gold to serve parallel transactions related to the sale of assets from the National Assets Fund, which is part of Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves.
First of all, the goal is to compensate for the budget deficit, which had reached 4.6 trillion rubles by the end of March," Ms. Natalia Milchakova - an analyst at Freedom Finance Global shared with The Moscow Times. "Without partial compensation from the Central Bank in the context of weakening oil and gas revenue earlier this year, this figure could have exceeded 5 trillion rubles.
The sale of gold may also be aimed at increasing foreign exchange reserves, as shortages appear due to weakening export revenue in the early stages of the year. The precious metal has been converted to the yuan," she added.
April figures are the latest developments in a larger-than-normal gold selling streak as Russia is under pressure from the war in Ukraine and international sanctions.
Russia's gold reserves have fallen to 2,304.76 tons as of April 1, 2026, including a decrease of 6.22 tons in March alone, according to a report released by the Central Bank of Russia a month ago.
Domestic gold demand in Russia has skyrocketed as the country's economy enters its fifth year of being affected by the Ukraine war. According to the Moscow Stock Exchange, gold trading volume in the previous month increased by more than 350% compared to March 2025, reaching 42.6 tons – including 28.6 tons of swap transactions and 14 tons of spot transactions.
The weakening ruble made the increase even stronger in value, increasing by 500% compared to the same period last year, reaching 534.4 billion rubles, equivalent to about 7.1 billion USD.
Gold sales to finance the budget deficit may continue in the context of government spending increasing sharply compared to the budget target" - Ms. Natalia Milchakova - Chief Analyst at Freedom Finance Global told Reuters. "Gold sales from the Reserves of the Central Bank of Russia are completely consistent with the trend that many other central banks are implementing, especially in developing countries.
Russia's gold reserves were mainly accumulated in the period 2002–2025, when the country purchased more than 1,900 tons of gold, including more than 500 tons in the period 2008–2012 and about 1,200 tons in the period 2014–2019. According to analyst Nikolai Dudchenko of Finam, Russia's net gold purchases since 2020 have only reached about 58.4 tons.
Currently, many central banks continue to sell gold due to demand to offset spending, including defense costs," Mr. Dudchenko said, adding that this money is also used to cope with "high energy prices and support the domestic currency exchange rate.
On February 20, the Central Bank of Russia announced that it had sold 300,000 ounces of gold in January when gold prices set a record above 5,500 USD/ounce, bringing total holdings to 74.5 million ounces. This is the first time Russia's gold reserves have decreased since October.
The average gold price in January fluctuated around 4,700 USD/ounce but at times reached 5,600 USD/ounce, meaning gold sales may have brought in about 1.41–1.68 billion USD.
Even after selling, Russia's gold reserve value still increased by 23% in January, to 402.7 billion USD thanks to the sharp increase in gold prices to a record level.
Last July, Bloomberg reported that Russia's exports of precious metals to China nearly doubled in value in the first half of 2025.
China's imports of ore and precious metal concentrates from Russia, including gold and silver, have increased by 80% to 1 billion USD compared to the same period last year," Bloomberg quoted data from the Trade Data Monitor and Chinese customs as saying. "Gold bar prices have increased by about 28% this year thanks to increased geopolitical risks, trade tensions and buying activities from central banks and ETFs.
Russia is currently the second largest gold producer in the world, second only to China, with an annual output of more than 300 tons. The Central Bank of Russia was also once one of the largest gold buyers in the world, but purchases have decreased sharply since the full-scale conflict in Ukraine in 2022. Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China continues to be in the group of central banks buying the most gold in recent years.
Russia's gold exports to China increased in volume, but most of the value increase also came from the strong increase in gold prices in the past 12 months, when spot prices increased by nearly 43%.
Russian gold mining companies are also benefiting from strong domestic retail demand, reaching a record level last year when Russians flocked to buy precious metals to protect savings assets. Russian consumers bought 75.6 tons of gold in 2024, equivalent to about 25% of the country's total annual gold production.
The recent price increase of other precious metals also helped improve the revenue of major mining corporations in Russia.
MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC - one of the world's largest producers of palladium and platinum - has strongly increased exports to China this year" - the report said - "The prices of these two metals increased by 38% and 59% respectively in 2025.
