The Central Bank of Russia has sold, for the tenth consecutive month, gold from its reserves, to cover the budget deficit, which has become twice as large as the initial forecasts. Russia’s gold reserve has decreased by approximately 6.2 tons – reaching its lowest value in the last 8 years. It is also the fastest gold sale recorded in Russia, from 1998 to the present, reports The Moscow Times.
Russia’s budget deficit, fueled by the war expenses in Ukraine, has reached 7.3 trillion rubles – approximately 78.7 billion euros.
The gold reserve of the Russian national bank has reached approximately 2,264 tons.
From December 2025 to the present, Russia’s gold reserve has decreased by almost 62 tons.
According to the statistics of the International Monetary Fund, only once in modern history has Russia sold its gold reserves at a faster pace: in 1998, amid the threat of default, a currency crisis, and the collapse of government bonds, the Central Bank of Moscow sold 3.8 million troy ounces of gold (118 tons) within three months. However, by the end of 1989, some bars were repurchased.
The sale of gold, which began at the end of last year, has made the Central Bank of Russia the largest gold seller among all the central banks in the world.
“The Russian Ministry of Finance is using the accumulated reserves (including gold) to cover the budget deficit, in the absence of other revenues. As the revenues from oil and gas decreased in 2026, this led to an increase in the sales of the National Wealth Fund (NWF) assets, including gold,” explained Finam analyst, Alexander Potavin.
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