On July 20 (local time), the Central Bank of Russia said that the country's gold reserves had fallen to 73.4 million ounces of Troy as of July 1, 2026, the lowest level since February 2020.
According to data released by the Central Bank of Russia, in February 2020, the country's monetary gold reserves were at 73.3 million ounces of Troy, almost equivalent to the present. After more than 6 years, the scale of Russia's gold reserves has returned to its lowest level since the beginning of 2020.
The decline began at the beginning of 2026 and lasted continuously for 6 months. As of January 1, 2026, Russia's gold reserves reached 74.8 million ounces of Troy. A month later, gold decreased by 300,000 ounces, to 74.5 million ounces.
The downward trend continued in the following months. By March 1, gold reserves decreased by another 200,000 ounces, to 74.3 million ounces; by April 1, continued to decrease to 74.1 million ounces.
The strongest decrease was recorded in early May when gold reserves decreased by 500,000 ounces, to 73.6 million ounces. By June 1, gold reserves increased slightly to 73.7 million ounces, before continuing to decrease to 73.4 million ounces in early July.
Overall in the first half of 2026, the reserves of gold of the Central Bank of Russia decreased by 1.4 million ounces of Troy, equivalent to about 1.9% compared to the beginning of the year.
Despite shrinking reserve sizes, the value of Russia's gold reserves remains high thanks to rising world gold prices. According to the Central Bank of Russia, the total value of the country's gold reserves reached 298.99 billion USD as of March 1, 2026.
The Central Bank of Russia has not yet given the reason why gold reserves continuously decreased in the first half of the year. The latest data only reflects the scale of currency gold held by this agency at the beginning of July.
According to observers, gold is still one of Russia's strategic reserve assets, playing an important role in diversifying national reserves and reducing dependence on foreign currency-valued assets. However, the decrease in gold reserves to the lowest level in more than 6 years is attracting market attention, as Russia is still under pressure from sanctions and global economic fluctuations.
