Russia could consider investing part of its National Wealth Fund in gold, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said, adding that he sees investment in the precious metal as more sustainable in the long-term than in financial assets, APA rpeorts quoting Reuters.
Russia is one of the world’s largest gold producers, while its central bank has been the main buyer of its metal in recent years when - partly due to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow in 2014 - the central bank was reducing the share of U.S. dollar assets in its reserves.
For now, the finance ministry proposes that the National Wealth Fund’s new investment structure mirrors the foreign exchanges reserves structure of the central bank and excludes gold, Siluanov told reporters on Tuesday.
The finance ministry’s National Wealth Fund accumulates revenues from oil exports and was initially designed to support the pension system. It was worth $124 billion as of Dec. 1.
The central bank’s gold reserves stood at 72.7 million troy ounces, worth $105.9 billion, as of December 1.
“There is a discussion on whether to invest the fund’s money in gold and precious metals. There are a lot of supporters and opponents,” Siluanov said.
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