BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
The volume of gross gold and foreign exchange reserves of Uzbekistan as of December 1 amounted to $32.8 billion, having decreased by $463 million compared to November, Trend reports referring to the data of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan (CBU).
According to the CBU data, net gold and foreign exchange reserves (the difference between gross reserves and liabilities in hard currency) decreased by $536 million and reached $31.9 billion.
CBU noted that the country's reserves are still very poorly diversified - almost everything is stored in the form of gold ($18.4 billion) and foreign currency ($14 billion). It was reported that it is planned to solve this problem by purchasing US Treasury bonds.
Gold and foreign exchange reserves are falling for the fourth month in a row. Gold was the reason for the decline in December - the volume increased by 0.2 million troy ounces, but the value fell by almost $500 million.
After the news about vaccines, the metal began to fall in price, which affected the country's reserves.
The Wall Street Journal writes that gold prices remain volatile amid news of upbeat COVID-19 vaccine trial results. Gold futures as of December 16 amount to $1,858.50 for an ounce.
Earlier it was reported that Uzbekistan increased gold exports from January through August 2020 by 47.2 percent or $1.86 billion compared to the same period last year.
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