Audit Chamber: Russia among top 5 countries by FX, gold reserves

MOSCOW, Oct 14 (PRIME) -- Russia’s foreign exchange and gold reserves exceeded U.S. $618.2 billion as of September 1, making the country the fifth largest in the world by reserves, the Audit Chamber said in a statement on Thursday following an inspection of reserve management.

“The amount of Russia’s foreign exchange and gold reserves exceeded $618.2 billion as of September 1, 2021. This is a historic record, as it is the first time the country has managed to achieve this result throughout the existence of the Bank of Russia,” auditors said.

“Since 2015, the reserve figure has grown by $235 billion. Russia currently ranks fifth in the world by foreign exchange reserves, lagging behind only China, Japan, Switzerland, and India.”

The share of gold in the reserves grew to 23.3% in 2020 from 7.8% in 2014, and the amount of special drawing rights rose to $24.6 billion from $7 billion.

The auditors also said that the central bank has ensured optimal composition between preservation of the assets, their liquidity, and return on them, which is the goal of reserve management.

According to the central bank, Russia’s foreign exchange and gold reserves amounted to $614.122 billion as of October 1.

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