Russia's international reserves grow 6.8% in Aug to $769 bln - Central Bank

MOSCOW. Sept 7 (Interfax) - Russia's international (gold and foreign exchange) reserves increased by $48.674 billion or 6.8% in August 2026 to $769.022 billion from $720.348 billion, according to information on the Central Bank of the Russia's website.

Reserves grew by $14.169 billion or 1.9% in January-August 2026 from $754.853 billion as of January 1.

The value of monetary gold in reserves in August increased by $40.630 billion or 13.9% to $333.484 billion.

The share of gold in reserves as of September 1 rose to 43.4% from 40.7% as of August 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 funds 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.