Russia's international reserves decline 7.5% to $749 bln in March - Central Bank

MOSCOW. April 7 (Interfax) - Russia's volume of international gold and forex reserves declined $60.324 billion, or 7.5%, to $748.984 billion in March 2026 from $809.308 billion, the Central Bank of Russia said in information posted on its website.

Reserves declined $5.869 billion, or 0.8%, in January-March 2026 from $754.853 billion as on January 1.

The value of monetary gold in reserves decreased $50.057 billion, or 13.0%, to $333.968 billion in March, and the share of gold in reserves dipped to 44.6% as on April 1 from 47.5% as on March 1.

Following the sanctions that Western countries imposed on the CBR in 2022, the regulator is restricted in managing a significant part of gold and forex reserves. The part of reserves consisting of gold and assets in Chinese yuan was not subject to restrictions. The main factor in reserves trends is changes in the value of reserve assets owing to revaluation compared to the U.S. dollar, as well as transactions conducted under the fiscal rule and operations with monies from the National Wealth Fund.

International reserves are highly liquid foreign assets held by the CBR and the Russian government. They consist of foreign currency assets, monetary gold, special drawing rights ((SDR), a unit of account used by the International Monetary Fund), a reserve position with the IMF, and other reserve assets.