Russia's Reserves of Gold, Yuan Sufficient to Curb Financial Stability Risks - Regulator

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian Central Bank has been diversifying its gold and currency reserves since 2014, and the amount of gold and Chinese yuan is now sufficient to contain risks to the country's financial stability, Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said on Thursday.

"The composition of gold and currency reserves depends on the composition of the economy. We are now switching more actively to the yuan. Being aware of possible geopolitical risks, we have significantly increased the share of gold and yuan, and the volumes of gold and yuan are now sufficient and allow us to contain risks to financial stability," Nabiullina told the State Duma.

She added that the central bank began diversification after the imposition of Western sanctions against Russia in 2014.

In response to Western sanctions, Russia has accelerated efforts to switch to national currencies in trade. In February and March, the yuan replaced the US dollar as the most traded currency in Russia.