Gold reserves at the Bank of Russia fell in February 2026 to 74.3 million, Russian government agencies reported, citing data from the regulator. This is the lowest since March 2022, when the central bank estimated reserves at 74.1 million troy ounces.
TASS reported that the decline in gold reserves in ounces occurs for the second month in a row. As of January 1, 2026, gold reserves amounted to 74.8 million troy ounces. As of February 1, it was down by 300,000 troy ounces, and on March 1, it was down another 200,000 troy ounces.
RIA Novosti wrote that the decline in central bank shares is usually associated with the minting of precious metals. However, the agency points out that there have not been such large monthly reductions since 2015 (there is no previous similar data).
Global gold prices decline amid war in the Middle East. So, He writes RBC, April gold futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) fell 10.38% to $4,100 per ounce. This is the minimum value since the end of November 2025.
On January 26, the price of gold on global stock exchanges for the first time in history exceeded $5,000 per ounce. However, on January 30, precious metal prices collapsed, and then during trading, the price of gold fell by almost 10%.