According to Ernest Hoffman - market analyst at Kitco News, this is the latest data released by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR).
The average gold price in January was around 4,700 USD/ounce, but at times peaked at 5,600 USD/ounce. Therefore, gold selling transactions are likely to bring in from 1.41 to 1.68 billion USD.
Despite the sell-off, Russia's gold reserve value still increased by 23% in January, to 402.7 billion USD, thanks to the strong increase in gold prices.
In 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 concentrate from Russia, including gold and silver, increased by 80% to 1 billion USD compared to the same period last year.
Gold bar prices have increased by about 28% this year, driven by increased geopolitical risks, trade tensions, along with buying activities by central banks and ETFs" - Bloomberg quoted data from Trade Data Monitor and Chinese customs authorities.
Russia is currently the second largest gold producer in the world, after China, with annual production exceeding 300 tons. Previously, CBR was also in the group of central banks buying the most gold, but purchasing activities have stalled since Russia launched a comprehensive military campaign in Ukraine in 2022. Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China is still in the top gold buyer group in recent years.
Russia's gold exports to China increased in volume, but most of the value increase also came from the gold price increase in the past 12 months, when spot prices increased by nearly 43%.
Russian gold mining companies are also benefiting from increased domestic retail demand. Last year, gold demand from Russians reached a record high as many people turned to precious metals to preserve their assets. Russian consumers bought 75.6 tons of gold in 2024, equivalent to about 25% of the country's gold production.
The increase in other precious metals also contributed to improving revenue for major Russian mining corporations. "MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC, one of the world's leading producers of palladium and platinum, boosted exports to China this year. The prices of these two metals increased by 38% and 59% respectively in 2025" - the report said.
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