Russia accounted for about one-third of central banks’ gold purchases last year as the country spent more on the metal than at any time since the break-up of the Soviet Union amid escalating tensions with the west and a collapse in the value of the rouble.
Central banks around the world bought a net 461 tonnes of gold in 2014 — 13 per cent higher than the previous year and the second-highest level since the collapse of the gold standard in 1971 — as they continued to diversify their currency reserves following the financial crisis. They have added 1,800 tonnes to their holdings in the past six years.
Moscow’s shopping spree of the yellow metal was driven by a desire to shift away from a dependency on the dollar and provide support to the beleaguered rouble. Russia’s currency has lost half its value against the dollar in the past year on the back of the plunging oil price as well as western sanctions. The central bank’s foreign currency reserves, mainly US and European government bonds, have also fallen.
Russia’s central bank purchased 152 tonnes of gold worth $6.1bn at today’s prices — an increase of 123 per cent compared with the previous year — in the first 11 months of 2014, according to GFMS estimates.
Analysts also said Russia’s purchases might have been due to the buying of domestically produced gold that could not be easily sold overseas due to sanctions.
While Russia was a strong buyer this year, analysts say purchases could slow and the country could become a seller if it continues to liquidate its reserves to support the domestic currency.
During Russia’s last financial crisis in 1998, the central bank’s gold reserves fell by 118 tonnes, as the country’s foreign exchange holdings dropped below $10bn. Russia’s total international reserves amounted to $385bn at the end of December, compared with more than $500bn a year earlier.
“We are still a long way off Russia needing to sell gold,”Matthew Turner, analyst at Macquarie said.
The Thomson Reuters survey is based on data provided to the International Monetary Fund as well as its own estimates on central banks that do not provide data.
去年，俄罗斯央行的黄金购买量占到全球央行的三分之一左右，在俄罗斯与西方关系日益紧张以及卢布汇率下挫之际，俄罗斯买入黄金的规模达到自前苏联解体以来最高。
2014年，全球央行总共净购入461吨黄金，比2013年高出13%，为自1971年“金本位”终结以来第二高位，在此次金融危机之后，各国央行继续对其外汇储备多元化。过去6年，全球央行已增持1800吨黄金。
此次俄罗斯大举购买黄金的动因在于，俄罗斯希望摆脱对美元的依赖并支撑陷入困境的卢布。过去一年，由于油价下跌以及西方制裁，卢布兑美元汇率已下跌一半。俄罗斯央行的外汇储备（主要为美欧政府债券）也一直下滑。
据GFMS估计，2014年头11个月，俄罗斯央行购入152吨黄金，比前一年高出123%，按照目前的价格价值为61亿美元。
分析师还表示，俄罗斯购买黄金的原因还可能是本国生产的黄金卖不出去，这些黄金因国际制裁在海外很难销售。
尽管俄罗斯今年购买规模巨大，但分析师表示，其购买量将放缓，如果俄罗斯继续出售其外汇储备以支撑本币，该国可能会出售黄金。
在1998年俄罗斯上次金融危机期间，俄罗斯央行的黄金储备减少了118吨，该国外汇储备降至100亿美元以下。去年12月底，俄罗斯的外汇储备总额达到3850亿美元，前一年为5000多亿美元。
麦格理(Macquarie)分析师马修•特纳(Matthew Turner)表示：“俄罗斯出售黄金还是一个遥远的事情。”
汤森路透(Thomson Reuters)的这项调查基于提供给国际货币基金组织(IMF)的数据以及该机构自己对不提供此类数据的各国央行的估计。