The volume of monetary gold in September fell to the lowest level since 2019
Due to a budget deficit caused by high war expenditures and a drop in oil and gas revenues, the RF has begun to massively spend its state gold reserves. According to intelligence, physical volumes of metal in the Central Bank of the RF's vaults have been rapidly decreasing for the tenth consecutive month. This was reported by Ukrinform citing Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, according to the portal PromPolitInform.
In September 2026, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation reported a decrease in physical gold volumes for the tenth consecutive month. Over this period, reserves decreased by 6.2 tonnes, reaching 2.26 thousand tonnes, the lowest level for the country since the end of 2019. The cumulative reduction of the RF’s gold reserve since December 2025 has reached approximately 62 tonnes, or 2.7% of the total volume.
Financial indicators and RF reserves
As of October 9, Russia’s international reserves were estimated at 723.5 billion dollars. This is 45.5 billion dollars or 5.9% less than what was recorded at the beginning of September. The dollar value of existing gold for September and October also experienced a significant decline — from 333.5 billion to 301.6 billion dollars, caused by both the physical withdrawal of assets and market revaluation.
The Russian authorities are resorting to selling accumulated resources due to the inability to cover the budget deficit through other means. Oil and gas revenues, which were previously the main source for replenishing the treasury, continue to shrink. At the same time, expenditures for financing the war against Ukraine remain at an abnormally high level, which forces the Ministry of Finance of the RF to sell gold and currency assets of the National Welfare Fund to the Central Bank in exchange for rubles.
Limited resources and external sanctions
Moscow’s maneuvering capabilities are significantly limited by international sanctions imposed since 2022, when a significant portion of the Central Bank of the RF’s foreign assets was frozen. Under such conditions, gold and assets in yuan remain predominantly available for current financial operations on Russia’s internal market. Therefore, the total volume of international reserves reported by the Kremlin does not represent funds that the authorities can freely use.
Using accumulated gold reserves allows the Russian government to maintain budget stability only in the short term. Intelligence warns that the lack of reserve replenishment while maintaining the current level of expenses will inevitably lead to the need for increased internal borrowing, higher tax burdens, or radical cuts to social and other budget programs.
Photo: Ukrinform
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