The U.S. made it clear that any transaction involving gold related to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation is covered by existing sanctions, but that’s unlikely to have an immediate impact on the gold market.
The U.S. made it clear on Thursday that any transaction involving gold related to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation is covered by existing sanctions, but that’s unlikely to have an immediate impact on the gold market despite Russia’s estimated $132 billion in gold stockpiles.
Russia liquidating a meaningful percentage of gold would “signal a complete collapse of their economy and banking system — more than the sanctions currently imposed, and a sign of weakness by Russian leadership,” he said. “U.S. persons, including gold dealers, distributors, wholesalers, buyers, individual traders, refineries, and financial institutions, are generally prohibited from engaging in or facilitating prohibited transactions, including gold-related transactions in which blocked persons have an interest,” according to a release from the Treasury on frequently asked questions.
He believes the end result of the gold-related actions would be to “alert the 36 countries who hold significant portions of their gold reserves in the values of the New York Federal Reserve that they should take their gold back as soon as possible.”