moscow Is Eating Away Its Strategic Reserves: Sales of Gold Are Reaching Tens of Billions of Dollars

The Central Bank of russia has for the first time moved to direct sales of gold from its reserves on the domestic market, opening up access to the metal for banks, state-owned companies, and individual investment structures. This is a necessary step for the regulator: gold is effectively becoming a tool for supporting the ruble, patching up corporate liquidity, and covering budget needs amid the rapid depletion of other resources.

Until 2025, the Central Bank of the rf did not sell gold to commercial market participants – it only accepted it from the ministry of finance, increasing its own reserves. Now, however, the regulator is moving to selling its reserves, while the National Wealth Fund is rapidly losing liquid assets: from $113.5 billion in 2022 to $51.6 billion in 2025. The amount of gold in the Fund’s structure has decreased by 57 % during this time – from 405.7 tons to 173.1 tons.

In 2025, sales may reach US$30 billion (about 230 tons of gold), and in 2026 – at least US$15 billion (115 tons). Such large-scale monetization of reserves speeds up the depletion of stocks, which are already under pressure from sanctions and the decline in available currency instruments.

The strategy of selling gold supposedly allows for the rapid replenishment of the budget and maintenance of the stability of the ruble, but it creates long-term risks: it deepens the deficit of liquid reserves, makes public finances more dependent on the sale of assets, and limits opportunities for future interventions. The actual “eating away” of reserves – including gold, which for decades was considered untouchable – underscores how narrow moscow’s financial space has become under the pressure of sanctions.