Uzbekistan's official reserves topped $32.89 billion as of December 1, decreasing by only $7.5 million in November, the Central Bank said in a report.
Since the beginning of the year, the country’s “financial cushion” has decreased by $3.04 billion.
In November, the price of gold in the world rose from 1,992 to 2,058 dollars per ounce (+3.1%). For the first time ever, the price of gold surpassed 2,100 dollars per ounce in early December.
Against the background of rising gold prices, the physical volume of gold in Uzbekistan's reserves decreased by 0.4 million troy ounces (about 12.4 tons) - to 11.6 million troy ounces (360.8 tons), which indicates the sale of gold by the regulator. The value of gold reserves also decreased by $246.5 million to $23.7 billion.
Despite the possible sale of gold (worth over $1 billion), foreign currency reserves increased by only $237.9 million to $8.62 billion. However, year-to-date, foreign exchange reserves have decreased by $2.7 billion.
The Statistics Agency reported that in October, Uzbekistan exported gold worth $1.23 billion, and in 10 months - a record $6.87 billion, which is 2.3 times more than the same period last year.
In October, Uzbekistan took first place in gold sales in the world, reducing its reserves by 11 tons to 339 tons.
