Russia became the largest seller of gold among the world's central banks that disclose data on their reserves for the second consecutive quarter. In the third quarter of 2026, the Bank of Russia's gold stock decreased by 18.66 tons. This is happening amid the growing budget deficit of the Russian Federation and increased spending on the war against Ukraine.
This is evidenced by the World Gold Council report published on November 3. The Moscow Times also drew attention to the specifics of Russian gold operations.
Russia remains the largest seller of gold among central banks for two consecutive quarters. In April-June, its gold reserves decreased by approximately 21.8 tons, and in July-September - by another 18.7 tons. Thus, in just six months, the reduction amounted to over 40 tons.
According to the statistics of the Russian regulator, from the end of December 2025 to the end of September 2026, the volume of monetary gold in the international reserves of the Russian Federation decreased by approximately 62 tons. This is about 2.7% of the country's gold stock.
Such dynamics contradict the general trend in the global market. According to the World Gold Council, in the third quarter, central banks and other official institutions worldwide purchased a total of 321.2 tons of gold - 42% more than in the same period last year. The most active reserve replenishment was by China and Poland, which purchased approximately 63 and 40 tons respectively.
The reduction in Russian gold reserves is related, in particular, to the use of National Welfare Fund assets for budget operations. This was previously confirmed by the head of the Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina. According to her, the decrease in reserves is mainly explained by Ministry of Finance operations within the budget rule. Part of the gold is also used for minting coins.
The Moscow Times links the active use of reserves to the necessity to cover the budget deficit that is increasing due to military spending. According to the estimates cited by the publication from the Russian Ministry of Finance, the federal budget deficit of the Russian Federation by the end of 2026 may reach 7.3 trillion rubles.
At the same time, the reduction of gold reserves does not mean that the entire corresponding volume of metal was physically exported abroad or that the funds received were directly directed to finance military actions. Part of the operations is related to internal settlements between the Ministry of Finance and the central bank. The Russian regulator does not disclose a detailed structure of gold operations.
Despite the prolonged reduction, Russia maintains significant gold reserves - over 2.2 thousand tons. However, the continuation of sales amid active gold purchases by other central banks indicates the use of accumulated financial assets for current budget needs.
According to materials from: World Gold Council, The Moscow Times
