Russian banks ramping up gold purchases at record pace
By GCRU Gold News on Thursday, February 1 2018, 22:54 - Permalink
Russia is the largest gold buyer in the world, and purchases by Russian banks have increased substantially in recent years.
Last year, Russian banks bought 205.155 tons of gold, which is 4.7 percent more than in 2016 (195.89 tons), and approximately 67 percent of all gold produced in Russia. This is also a 13 percent increase compared to 2013.
The biggest buyers are VTB24, Sberbank and Gazprombank. All three banks have registered at the Shanghai precious metals exchange. In April, VTB announced plans to sell up to 100 tons of gold to China annually.
According to the World Gold Council, the Russian Central Bank increased gold reserves by 163 tons, to 1,778 tons.