Gold reserves of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) fell below the 300 billion USD mark at the end of June, marking the sixth consecutive month of decline in the context of the country's total international reserves also declining.
According to the latest data released by the CBR, Russia's gold reserve value reached 298.99 billion USD at the end of June, for the first time falling below the 300 billion USD mark in 2026.
At the same time, Russia's total international reserves decreased to 720.4 billion USD, significantly lower than 747.4 billion USD at the end of May. Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves remained almost flat, at 392.4 billion USD, compared to 392.3 billion USD in the previous month.
The downward trend of gold reserves has lasted for many months. According to CBR data, by early May, Russia still held 73.9 million ounces of gold, down about 900,000 ounces compared to the beginning of 2026 and down to the lowest level since March 2022.
Data from the World Gold Council (WGC) also shows that from January to the end of April, Russia's gold reserves decreased by about 27.9 tons, the sharpest decrease since 2002. In March alone, gold reserves decreased by another 6.22 tons, bringing total gold reserves to about 2,304.76 tons in early April.
Notably, this development is contrary to Russia's prolonged gold accumulation trend over the past two decades. According to historical data, in the period 2002-2025, CBR bought more than 1,900 tons of gold, of which about 500 tons were added in the period 2008-2012 and more than 1,200 tons in the period 2014-2019.
Although official gold reserves have decreased in recent months, Russia is still the second largest gold producer in the world, after China, with annual production exceeding 300 tons.
Domestic gold trading activity also remained at a high level. According to the Moscow Stock Exchange, gold trading volume in the most recent month reached 42.6 tons, an increase of more than 350% compared to the same period last year. By value, trading reached 534.4 billion rubles (about 7.1 billion USD), an increase of about 500% compared to the same period in 2025.
While Russia is recording a downward trend in gold reserves, many central banks around the world continue to increase their gold holdings to diversify reserve assets and reduce dependence on the USD. According to the 2026 Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey conducted by WGC, 45% of central banks participating in the survey plan to increase gold reserves in the next 12 months, while 89% forecast that the total gold reserves of the global central banking sector will continue to increase in the coming year.
