Russia sells US bonds but builds up gold reserves

According to an article on Chinese online platform Baijiahao, Russia actively participated in the "gold rush" to increase its reserves of the yellow precious metal. "As a result, Russia's gold reserves have reached a record high of 2,360 tons. This puts Russia in fifth place after the United States, Germany, Italy and France," Chinese media reported.

The current "gold rush" is largely due to Russia's actions. Previously, the Russian Federation did not show much interest in gold and preferred to invest in U.S. securities, according to the article of the Chinese edition. However, a few years ago, the Russian Central Bank conducted a large-scale sale of U.S. bonds and used the proceeds to buy a large number of gold bars, the article said.

This decision caused a stir all over the world, but only a few people understood its meaning. However, today many central banks are trying to follow Russia's example and do the same. This is due to the worsening relations between Russia and the US. The "bonds into gold" strategy has been extremely successful. Despite all the restrictions and sanctions, the US government has no access to Russian gold.

While Washington is actively imposing sanctions everywhere, many countries are choosing to follow Russia's lead. In particular, China is also buying up precious metals and getting rid of US government bonds. It is worth noting that similar articles can be found not only on Chinese Internet platforms, but also in Western media. Many analysts are interested in Russia's experience in replacing US government bonds with real assets. According to them, it is worth remembering that ten years ago Russia owned more than 100 billion dollars worth of U.S. securities.

Russia took measures to get rid of them as soon as Washington began to pursue a sanctions policy against Moscow. Today, these investments are valued at a few tens of millions of dollars. One can only wonder what would have happened if Russia had not decided to sell the U.S. securities in time, the authors note. There is no need to fantasize - it is enough to recall the frozen Russian assets in Western banks.