BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 12. The gold and foreign exchange assets of the National Bank of Kazakhstan amounted to $35.1 billion, Aliya Moldabekova, Deputy Governor at the National Bank of Kazakhstan, said, the National Bank of Kazakhstan told Trend.
This constitutes an increase of $700 million during 2022 due to the increase of foreign exchange assets at the expense of gold sales, as well as the price drop to $1,812.35 per ounce.
As a result of the gold sale operations, the share of the precious metal decreased from 68 percent to 58 percent.
The deputy governor said that the National Bank will continue to decrease the share of gold in 2023.
“It is important to understand that there is no “perfect” ratio of gold to freely convertible currency assets in international reserves. The relatively high proportion of gold makes it possible to ensure the safety of gold and foreign exchange reserves, especially during a crisis period. On the other hand, it creates difficulties in achieving the second goal of diversifying assets and increasing returns in the short and medium term”, Moldabekova said.