RESERVES AND STOCKS

This provides resources for the growth of highly liquid assets (foreign exchange reserves), which include not only gold, but also other values, such as foreign currency, special drawing rights, etc. Changes in their quantity and ratio have an impact on the country's economy and foreign economic relations.

Russia's gold reserve in tons

Thanks to the precious metal it is possible to conduct the financial policy of the state (fulfillment of its main functions and tasks) and to solve urgent issues in case of emergency situations. Moreover, gold, which does not contain any impurities, has no economic value, since it is characterized by softness due to the lack of ligature. It can only be used to increase the gold reserve.

In addition, the precious metal in this category is a guarantee against a number of difficulties - it protects against legal and political risks. This means that such resources will make it possible to continue supporting the economy, even if all other accounts, deposits in foreign currencies and securities are arrested. Gold bullion will remain under the control of the Central Bank of Russia.

This is a kind of insurance against a lot of problems that can follow an attempt to destabilize the economy when other values are seized.

The gold reserve is not measured in bullion, but in tons. It is the weight that is taken as the basis for determining the degree of influence of a country on the foreign economic relations of states. And it is constantly changing, depending on various factors:

• the volume of extracted resources - are constantly increasing;
• the need to make transactions of purchase and sale with the use of precious metal.

If the share of gold (bars, coins) decreases excessively, there is monopolistic emission of money - an artificial increase in the volume of money supply. To avoid such consequences, the stock of refined gold is constantly increased or maintained at the same level. Direct methods (gold mining) and indirect methods (economic) are used for this purpose.

Previously, the gold reserve of the USSR fluctuated greatly. At the initial stage it was less than 900 tons, as the new country was formed the costs increased so much that we had to look for internal sources of precious metal (from the population).

According to official data, already in the middle of the last century the volume of gold was more than 2 thousand tons.

Today there is much more precious metal in the custody of the Central Bank. And there is a trend of steady growth in its quantity. By and large, this is due to an increase in the rate of gold mining. Over the past 10 years the annual amount of precious resource has increased from 186 tons to 297 tons. Accordingly, the amount of precious metal, which constitutes the gold reserve in Russia, is also increasing.

Gold and foreign currency reserves of Russia as of today

While Russia ranks third in the world in gold mining, it ranks fifth in gold reserves. And over the past 20 years the amount of valuable resources has increased dramatically. As of January 1, 2021 the amount of refined gold under the control of the Central Bank was 2,298.5 tons.

This number is subject to change. For example, most recently there has been a reduction in the physical reserves of precious metal in international reserves, but this has not yet affected the position of the Russian Federation in the ranking of countries by volume of gold.

Given the trend, small changes will not lead to a significant loss of position.

Gold and foreign exchange reserves combine a large number of tons of gold in Russia: bullion, coins. In addition, this group includes:

• foreign currency;
• special drawing rights;
• reserve position in the IMF.

And the foreign exchange reserves of the United States, Russia, other countries - a concept subject to change, which occurs during the economic crisis, and therefore, quite often. The constituents that are the main ones are:

• currency, deposits, debt securities;
• international reserve assets that were issued by the IMF;
• the currency component of the state's quota in the IMF.

Gold reserve of the countries of the world

Each of the states occupies a certain position in the ranking by the amount of precious metal. The amount of gold under the control of central banks increases competition. The position of each country is constantly changing. Among them, Russia, as one of the participants in the group of leaders.

The European ones include countries with varying amounts of precious metals. However, this does not prevent them from making a significant contribution to the international reserve. The volume of gold in the association of European countries is just over 10.7 thousand tons. For a long time the leader was the United States. At the same time the volume of the gold reserve of the country amounted to 70% of the world reserves.

Today, the U.S. continues to hold its position. It ranks No. 1 in the ranking in terms of gold reserves.

Storage of gold and foreign currency reserves

Physical valuables are located in the main vault of the Russian Federation. This facility is equipped according to the latest requirements. The security system is mandatory (and it is multi-level, which increases the degree of protection). The area of the facility is significant. The area where the gold stock is stored is 1.5 thousand meters.².

Functions of international reserves of the state

Official foreign exchange reserves allow us to solve certain problems:

• to provide a source of funding when a deficit arises, which may arise due to a disruption in the balance of current transactions;
• making a profit;
• performance of transactions with foreign currencies;
• external debt forgiveness;
• formation of a liquidity reserve.

Gold and foreign exchange reserves of the central bank

The amount of gold controlled by the Central Bank is used to maintain the ability to perform basic functions (making profits, carrying out operations with currency and others - all of which are listed above).

Over the past year there was a growth in international reserves on the background of falling oil prices. This contributed to the creation of conditions for the sale of some gold.

Such actions, as well as the earlier need to increase the amount of valuable resources, help maintain reserves at a sufficient level. It is justified to increase/decrease the amount of valuable metals under different conditions. This takes into account the currency portfolio of reserves, changes in the price of gold on the global market.

Gold and foreign currency reserves in commercial banks

There is a constant exchange of resources with commercial financial structures. And it is the Central Bank that uses them as a source of additional values in case of such a need. Different schemes are considered, including: partial reservation of funds received from depositors by commercial structures, the purchase of currency and other valuable resources from them. At the same time, the received gold and currency are highly liquid assets, since they are used to replenish the gold and currency reserve.