Gold is gradually regaining momentum. The precious metal has not developed a steady rally yet. Nevertheless, investors are betting on its growth. Last month, gold quotes went into a tailspin amid the coronavirus pandemic. This slump caught investors off-guard as gold serves as a traditional shelter in the time of market turbulence. Surprisingly, gold plummeted below the level of $1,500 per troy ounce from multi-year highs of nearly $1,700, thus dashing hopes for its advance. In other words, the precious metal did not justify its safe-haven status. This came as an unpleasant surprise for the Bank of Russia as the regulator had been pumping up its gold reserves for a few years. Russia’s central bank has become the largest gold buyer in the world. Importantly, its gold and forex reserves are set to rise in value, benefiting from the rally of gold prices. The recent drop of gold quotes inflicted losses on the central bank’s portfolio. If the Bank of Russia had invested in the US dollars and Treasuries, such investment would have yielded much higher returns. However, the regulator had to sell almost all Treasuries in 2018 evading the threat of the looming US sanctions. Unfortunately, the regulator took the wrong decision to buy the Chinese yuan at the peak of its value. Shortly after, the People’s Bank of China devalued the national currency. As a result, Russia’s forex reserves shrank in value dramatically.
