Russia is selling its gold reserves at a rapid pace: The Bank of Russia's gold holdings dropped -900,000 ounces in the first 4 months of 2026, to 73.9 million ounces, the lowest since February 2022. Gold prices averaged ~$4,800 per ounce over the same period. Therefore, if Russia sold gold at the market price, the sales are estimated to have generated ~$4.3 billion in proceeds. Russia's central bank began reducing its gold reserves last year after the Finance Ministry liquidated gold and foreign currency assets from the National Wellbeing Fund to offset budget deficits driven by declining energy revenues. Before the pandemic, the Bank of Russia used to be one of the world’s largest official gold buyers, taking in nearly all domestically mined output until it halted purchases in early 2020. Russia is increasingly selling gold to raise cash.