Russia sells gold due to budget deficit: details
фотоколаж: facebook Д.Вовнянко
Since the beginning of 2026, Russia has sold more than 21.7 tons of gold to cover the budget deficit, which reached 4.6 trillion rubles as of March.
Reuters reports this.
The sales come amid declining oil and gas revenues.
According to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the volume of gold reserves decreased to 74.1 million troy ounces by April 1.
At the same time, precious metals trading volumes on the Moscow Exchange increased sharply – in March they increased more than 3.5 times compared to last year.
Analysts note that the sale of gold is associated with an increase in government spending, which exceeds planned figures.
On the domestic market, the volume of gold transactions in rubles increased fivefold and reached 534.4 billion rubles.
Experts point out that the use of reserves has become a necessary step to maintain financial stability amid declining export revenues.
Further dynamics will depend on raw material prices and the implementation of budget plans.
As previously reported, Russia officially approved the federal budget for 2026, which provides for record spending on the army and law enforcement agencies.
Recall that in March, Russia’s oil tax revenues fell sharply – almost halved compared to last year. This hit the budget, but within a few weeks the situation began to change due to a jump in oil prices.
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