Vladimir Putin is long gold.
According to Bloomberg News, using data from the World Gold Council, the Bank of Russia has seen its gold reserves reach a 17-year high. The Russian central bank has doubled its pace of gold purchases at a time when several nations are embracing a de-dollarization trend.
In the second quarter of 2017, Russia accounted for about 38 percent of all gold purchases by central banks. Russia’s gold acquisition is increasing at a pace of about 15 percent per year.
This means that Russia will soon top China for the number of gold holdings, which could occur as soon as the first quarter of next year.
“Gold is an asset that is independent of any government and, in effect, given what is usually held in reserves, any Western government,” said Matthew Turner, metals analyst at Macquarie Group in London. “This might appeal given Russia has faced financial sanctions.”
Russia recently announced it would submit legislation that would make the ruble the primary currency of exchange at every single Russian seaport as of next year. For years, Russian seaports had serviced dollars.
Moscow would join several other states that have shifted away from the United States dollar hegemony, including Iran, Venezuela and some Middle Eastern nations.
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