As of December 1, Uzbekistan’s gold and foreign exchange volume reserves topped US$ 34.75 billion, recording a US$ 462 million decrease over the month, the Central Bank said in a report.
The physical volume of gold reserves dropped by 0.7 million troy ounces (or by 21.7 tons) - to 11.4 million troy ounces (354.5 tons), which indicates of gold exports. The value of gold in reserves therefore fell by US$ 1.22 billion - to US$ 20.44 billion. In October, the Central Bank sold 0.2 million troy ounces of gold (about 5.7 tons).
Foreign currency reserves in November increased by US$ 778.4 million (in September there was an US$ 466.7 million increase) - to US$ 13.19 billion.
Year-to-date, gross international reserves have decreased by US$ 154.6 million, or by 0.4%. According to the Central Bank, this was influenced by the quotations of gold, which fell from US$ 1891.1 at the beginning of the year to US$ 1797.6. The impact of this fall was US$ 1.06 billion.
Record inflation in the United States in 30 years (6.2% - the highest since November 1990) contributed to the sharp rise in gold prices amid the soft position of the US Federal Reserve and other leading central banks. Under these conditions, gold is used as a hedge against inflationary risks.
The Central Bank somewhat took advantage of the favorable price environment, when gold quotes jumped above US$ 1,860 in mid-November (on November 3, it was about US$ 1,764), and sold gold in large volumes. This is evidenced by the international trade data of the State Statistics Committee for January-November. In particular, in November, Uzbekistan exported US$ 1.74 billion worth of gold.
