If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was almost like they were TRYING to kill the US Dollar:
So much for sanctions & Weaponising the Dollar; it just pushed the rest of the World into the BRICS, de-Dollarization & Gold, whilst simultaneously de-industrialising the West …
Russia’s holdings of gold have reached a new high of $188.8 billion and bullion’s share in the country’s international reserves now exceeds 30% for the first time in almost a quarter century, according to the central bank.
The Bank of Russia reported on Friday that the value of monetary gold in international reserves had increased by more than $9 billion, or 5.1%, since the beginning of August.
The gold price rose 3.6% in August to finish the month at $2,513/oz, meaning that a significant part of the increase in the value of Russia’s holdings was due to the revaluation effect.
This is still the highest share of monetary gold in Russia’s international assets since January 2000, when it reached 31.2%. The highest level in the country’s modern history was recorded in January 1993, at 56.9%.
According to the central bank, the country’s international reserves have continued to grow, reaching $613.7 billion as of September 1, up by more than $11 billion from the previous month.
Russia’s international reserves are officially defined as highly liquid foreign assets held by the Bank of Russia and the country’s government, consisting of foreign currencies, special drawing rights with the IMF, and monetary gold.
The Russian Finance Ministry announced it will exponentially increase its gold purchases beginning Friday.
According to Russian news agency Interfax, the government will increase its gold purchases from 1.12 billion rubles per day to 8.2 billion rubles per day for the next month.
Russia using oil to get gold
The report states the finance ministry expects a significant oil and gas revenue of 162 billion rubles in September, a huge jump compared to the 10.9 billion rubles generated in August.
With that money, Russia plans to purchase more gold.
Net purchases of gold by central banks in 2024. (Source: World Gold Council)
As the war in Ukraine rages on, Russia’s central bank has been a net purchaser of gold through the 2024 calendar year, though it has only added about 4 tonnes of the metal to its reserves.
Embracing gold in Russia
In early 2022, just as the war with Ukraine began, Russia married the ruble to gold and created a new gold standard. According to The Conversation, Russia shifted the currency to gold to isolate its economy from transactions requiring American dollars. That effort has been taking place since 2013.
Meanwhile, all the major central banks all over the world suddenly went on a massive gold buying spree….
What Do They Know? Russia Increases Daily Gold Purchases by 700%
In a significant move, Russia's Finance Ministry has announced plans to allocate 8.2 billion rubles ($92 million) each day for gold and foreign currency purchases until October 4, the nation's Finance Minister announced.
Russia will increase its gold purchases from 1.12 billion rubles per day to 8.2 billion rubles per day for the next month.
"The amount of funds allocated for purchases of foreign currency and gold totals 172.9 billion rubles,” the ministry said in a statement. “Transactions will be carried out from September 6 to October 4, 2024, respectively, daily volume of purchase of foreign currency and gold will equal 8.2 billion rubles.”
Russia's gold holdings are now at a RECORD high of $188.8 billion.
For the first time in nearly 25 years, gold now accounts for over 30% of the country's international reserves.
This marks a sevenfold increase in purchases of physical precious metals over the previous spend, which has already been much higher for the last year. The Finance Ministry also projected “windfall” oil and gas revenues of 162 billion rubles in September, noting that actual oil and gas revenue in August exceeded initial expectations by 10.9 billion rubles ($129 million).
These revised figures “make it possible to estimate the volume of operations conducted by the Bank of Russia on the currency market related to the replenishment and use of the National Wealth Fund,” the ministry added.
With the new transaction volumes set for the September 6 to October 4 period, the Central Bank is expected to sell 0.2 billion rubles per day during the previous period.
After an 18-month hiatus, Russia's finance ministry resumed gold and currency purchases in August 2023, capitalizing on higher oil prices. The country had previously paused foreign exchange interventions in January 2023, selling yuan reserves as part of a budgetary strategy to shield the economy from commodity market volatility. This program was initially suspended following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
As Western sanctions have frozen a substantial portion of Russia's currency reserves, the yuan remains the primary asset available for these operations. Notably, approximately one-third of Russia’s budget revenues are derived from the oil and gas sector, underscoring the critical role of these commodities in the nation's economic strategy.
What do they know? Is this just a response to their oil windfall so they can put more of their profits into the financial higher ground of physical precious metals or do they have something else planned? Either way, it's just the latest of many signs that those "in the know" are taking advantage of the gold and silver market even though both are near record high prices.
With BRICS hinting at a CBDC backed by gold and the shift away from western payment systems, it seems likely that this move is preparatory for big moves ahead. If those moves are just being made by Russia, then this is a huge deal. If they're also going to be done by China and other BRICS nations in the future, then this is a gamechanger.
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RELATED REPORT:
Should Americans Wait for the Election Before Moving into Gold and Silver?
With the presidential election around the corner, many Americans who are concerned about the economy are waiting to see the results before making major moves with their money.
Is Donald Trump going to win or will Kamala Harris pull it off? If Trump wins, will there be riots worse than the "Summer of Love" following the George Floyd video in 2020? If Harris wins, will the stock market plummet and will precious metals prices skyrocket?
"This election is like no other that I've seen in over two decades in the precious metals industry," said Jonathan Rose, CEO of Genesis Gold Group. "Normally there are factors that point to a wide range of possible scenarios for gold and silver prices but this year it's all pointing to either metals being flat or shooting upward."
According to Rose, this is the first presidential election in which no scenario favors precious metals prices falling. That's not to say it can't happen; if we've learned anything the past four years it's that pretty much anything is possible. But precious metals prices have been resistant to interest rate increases, stock market spikes, stock market drops, and even U.S. Dollar indicators.
The biggest factor that drives the continuous record-breaking prices for precious metals is debt. Both nationally and globally, massive debt accumulated by the people and their governments has kept gold and silver from dipping for any sustained period. This is why gold prices have risen over 50% just since Election Day, 2022.
"The best-case-scenario as we see it is for Trump to win the election and for any resulting turmoil to be minimized," Rose said. "That will put the nation on the fastest path to economic recovery and long-term prosperity."
Unlike other precious metals companies that "cheer" for Democrats because their policies make precious metals prices rise, Genesis Gold Group prefers stability and is unabashedly supportive of President Trump's campaign. They are a faith-driven company which compels them to do what's best for their clients rather than simply looking at their own bottom line.
If Trump wins and there is minimal turmoil, precious metals prices will likely stabilize. If Trump wins and there's turmoil or if Harris wins, precious metals prices will likely go up, according to most reputable economists.
"We have always felt it's best to buy gold and wait rather than waiting to buy gold but that's never been more true than it is today," Rose said. "If Trump wins and the forces against him are quashed quickly, then we could see precious metals prices go flat. That's fine by us because it means our clients are positioned for the long-term.
"But in any other election scenario prices will likely shoot up, so either way it behooves Americans to take a serious look at letting us rollover or transfer their retirement accounts into a Genesis Gold IRA sooner rather than later... they definitely want to get everything done before the election."
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Reach out to Genesis Gold Group today and receive their free, definitive gold guide. They can help you navigate the current and future state of the economy so you can take advantage of the financial higher ground of physical precious metals.
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