Russia's Gold Reserves Plunge to Six-Year Low Amid Fiscal Pressures
Russia's gold reserves have hit a six-year low, falling to 73.2 million ounces as of August 1, down from 74.8 million at the start of the year.
The decline is largely due to the government drawing on assets in the National Wealth Fund to ease fiscal pressures, which have intensified amid rising defense spending and declining energy revenues.
According to data released by the Bank of Russia, gold reserves shrank by $33.7 billion (approximately NT$1.1 trillion) in the first seven months of this year.
The Russian government has been tapping into its reserve assets accumulated over past years to maintain operations, with analysts noting that Russia still possesses strong gold production capacity and can replenish its reserves by purchasing domestically produced gold in the future.