Russia's central bank sells gold at fastest pace since 1998 to plug budget gap

Reserves at their lowest since 2019

The Bank of Russia published its September figures on Tuesday, 20 October, showing gold reserves fell by a further 200,000 troy ounces, about 6.2 tonnes. The total stock dropped to 72.8 million troy ounces, the lowest level since the end of 2019. Sales started in December 2025, and reserves have since fallen by about 2 million troy ounces, roughly 62 tonnes, according to central bank data cited by The Moscow Times. Outlets differ on how long the selling has run, with Rzeczpospolita counting nine months in a row while naTemat and Il Messaggero put it at ten.

Budget gap behind the sales

The deficit for this year is projected at 7.3 trillion rubles, double the initial estimate, according to figures reported by Ziare.com, Il Messaggero and naTemat. Oil and gas revenue is falling, and naTemat reports that sanctions and strikes on refineries have cut the inflow of petrodollars. Military spending is draining state coffers, and naTemat says Russia cannot borrow on international markets. Ziare.com and Rzeczpospolita describe the central bank as reproducing earlier Finance Ministry transactions that drew on National Wealth Fund assets, gold among them. Dollar equivalents of the deficit differ between outlets, at $88.1 billion in Ziare.com and $81.1 billion in Il Messaggero.

Comparison with 1998

According to IMF statistics cited by Ziare.com, Russia has sold gold at a faster pace only once in recent history, in 1998, during a financial crisis that ended with the country defaulting on its obligations. The central bank sold 3.8 million troy ounces, about 118 tonnes, over three months that year. Some of those bars were bought back by year end, so the net reduction in 1998 was roughly 50 tonnes, less than in the current episode. After that crisis the Kremlin rebuilt its holdings, which more than quintupled from the late 1990s. By early 2022, before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia held about 74 million troy ounces, around 2,300 tonnes, the fifth-largest gold reserve in the world.

Buyers and routes

Rzeczpospolita names China as the main client for the gold, while naTemat reports that the metal moves through Hong Kong to China via quiet channels. Reuters, cited by Ziare.com, describes the Bank of Russia as the largest gold seller among central banks worldwide. Rzeczpospolita says high world gold prices probably also encouraged the decision to step up sales. Measured against the 1998 episode, the current drop in reserves since December 2025 is about 62 tonnes, above the net 1998 reduction but below the 118 tonnes sold in the three months of 1998.