russia Sells Gold Reserves to China to Plug Budget Holes

In 2025, russia sharply increased gold exports to China, apparently a forced sale of reserves amid financial pressure. Over the course of the year, the rf supplied 25.3 tons of gold to China – nine times more than in 2024. In monetary terms, exports rose to $3.29 billion, compared to only $223 million a year earlier. This underscores the scale and unusual nature of the transactions.

Deliveries were uneven and situational. The main volumes fell into two periods – February–March and October–December, indicating an unstable export schedule. The peak load was recorded in December, when russia shipped 10 tons of gold worth $1.35 billion – more than 40% of the annual volume. Such concentration at the end of the year indicates the use of gold as a tool for urgent fundraising. Exports were mainly in the form of gold bars, which facilitates the rapid monetization of assets.

The growth in exports occurred in parallel with a sharp decline in the rf’s domestic gold reserves. As of January 1, 2026, the National Wealth Fund held only 160.2 tons of gold in accounts with the central bank of the rf, compared to 554.9 tons in May 2022. This trend indicates a systemic depletion of reserves.

Sanctions pressure and loss of access to Western trade infrastructure forced russia to redirect gold flows to Asia, first of all to China, effectively leaving moscow with a limited circle of buyers. At the same time, the sharp increase in exports to China looks like a short-term financial maneuver aimed at patching up budget gaps, particularly at the end of the fiscal year, at the cost of reducing strategic reserves.