Russia for First Time Holds More Gold Than U.S. Dollars in $583 Billion Reserves

Gold made up 23% of central bank’s stockpile as of end of June
Putin has made ‘de-dollarization’ a key policy amid sanctions

Freshly cast gold ingot bars sit in the foundry at the JSC Krastsvetmet non-ferrous metals plant in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019. Gold headed for the biggest weekly loss in more than two years as progress in U.S-China trade talks hammered demand for havens and sent miners’ shares tumbling.Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

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January 12, 2021 at 5:05 AM EST

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A multi-year drive to reduce exposure to U.S. assets has pushed the share of gold in Russia’s $583 billion international reserves above dollars for the first time on record.

Gold made up 23% of the central bank’s stockpile as of the end of June 2020, the latest date for which data on the breakdown is available, according to a report published late Monday. The share of dollar assets dropped to 22%, down from more than 40% in 2018.

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