Preparing for dollar doomsday? Russia adds 6 more tons of gold to its coffers in May

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has purchased 200,000 troy ounces (6 tons) of gold in May, boosting bullion reserves to 2,190 tons.

Russia increased its gold reserves by 0.3 percent in one month from May 1 to June 1, the central bank reported on Thursday. In May, the regulator held some 2,183 tons of the precious metal.

Moscow has been actively beefing up bullion reserves in order to reduce reliance on the US dollar and to diversify its foreign exchange reserves. Russia’s international reserves are highly liquid foreign assets comprising stocks of monetary gold, foreign currencies and Special Drawing Right (SDR) assets, which are at the disposal of the Central Bank of Russia and the government.

In the first 5 months of this year, Russia added 78 tons of gold to its coffers, increasing the precious metal’s share in its international reserves by 3.7 percent. Last year, the CBR bought some 274 tons of gold.

“I think what Russia is doing, or other central banks are recognizing, is that they need to increase their gold reserves because of the impending dollar crisis,” CEO of Euro Pacific Capital Peter Schiff told RT in May.

On Thursday, spot gold prices surged to levels not seen in more than 5 years, trading 2.85 percent higher at around $1,386.16 per ounce. Meanwhile, gold futures also posted strong gains, soaring more than 2.9 percent to $1,387.85 per ounce.

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