Page 50 - RusRPTJun19

Central Bank Chairman Elvira Nabiullina.
The forecast of the current account balance in 2018 increased from $ 43bn to $ 59bn, the forecast of foreign exchange reserves - from $ 35bn to $ 50bn.
5.2.4 Gross international reserves
Total gross international reserves topped $491bn as of the end of May or about 13 months of import cover. This is just shy of the $500bn target the CBR has set itself.
Russia became the leader in gold purchases in 2019. World central banks, including regulators in Russia and China, have increased their gold purchases in the first three months of this year to a maximum of six years, according to data from the World Gold Council (WGC). According to the WGC, Moscow purchased 55.3 tons of gold. Thus, the total amount of the country's gold reserve exceeded 2,168 tons. In 2018, Russia bought 274.3 tons of gold. Gold purchases were financed by the Bank of Russia’s almost complete sale of a US Treasury bond portfolio, the organization’s report said. The Central Bank mainly purchases gold from domestic producers. Moscow, buying gold, is seeking to reduce its dependence on the US dollar in the event of extension of sanctions by the United States, notes Bloomberg. In general, countries replenished their gold reserves by 145.5 tons in the first quarter, which is 68%
50 RUSSIA Country Report June 2019 www.intellinews.com