Gold reserve of Ukraine. Gold and currency reserves of Ukraine

The gold reserve of Ukraine reached its maximum in2010. At that time, it was about 34 billion 570 million dollars. By July 1, 2013 the reserve of the country was reduced by 23 billion 148 million dollars. Thus, in just three years, the reduction of Ukrainian capital was registered by almost a third. The tendency to reduce gold reserves, and gold in particular, continues today.

A little history, or the dynamics of reducing the reserve of Ukraine

Gold reserve of Ukraine since the moment of formationstate has always shown a positive increase. In the period from 1999 to 2013, for the first time, its reduction was recorded. The situation is attributed to the global crisis, which rolled into the whole world in 2008. Despite the fact that in 2010 the reserve of the country reached its maximum, as early as 2012 it was noted "losing weight" of the state purse by 22.8% compared to the previous year. If we consider the indicator in absolute terms, we can say that this corresponds to 7 billion 48 million 590 thousand dollars. Experts attribute the reduction of the reserve to the government's attempts to keep the national currency rate on the eve of the 2012 parliamentary elections. In May-June 2013 there was another reduction in reserves for 2 billion 5 million dollars. The volume of capital was fixed at the level of indicators six years ago. Reduction of the reserve in this period again coincided with the attempts of the government to stabilize the exchange rate of the national currency. The situation was exacerbated by the need to pay external debt. During this period, a significant reduction in the inflow of funds to Ukraine was recorded.

State sale: the first wave

The answer to the question, where the gold reserve of Ukraine,is covered in a large-scale sale of yellow metal in 2014. The last active release of the government from the asset occurred in 2004. At that time, 4 tons of metal worth 50 million dollars were sold. After that, within 10 years, the reserve of the country remained inviolable and was replenished by only 20 tons of gold. The first manipulations to sell the asset were started in May 2014. In just a month, the National Bank of Ukraine sold about 2.8 tons or 90 thousand troy ounces of metal for a total of $ 113 million. The stock of the country was reduced to 40 tons. Note that the time for the sale of precious metal was chosen extremely unsuccessful.

Gold reserve of Ukraine

In September 2015, as mentioned above, the volumethe gold reserve of Ukraine was about 40 tons of precious metal. In October 2014, the government of the state made a repeated decision to sell its savings. As a result of the manipulations, the reserve was reduced by 14 tons of precious metal. The head of the National Bank of Ukraine stated that the decision was not caused by the difficult economic situation. The prerequisite for the "golden sale" was the need to reduce its specific volume to 7% in order to balance the gold reserves. Experts estimate this step as desperate, because the "airbag" of the country was almost completely sold out, and not at the best prices. Let's make a digression in the statistics. In 2011, the price of yellow metal was about $ 1,850 per ounce. At a time when the gold reserves of Ukraine were sold at a hammer, the price of the asset varied within the limits of 1200 dollars. At a time when Ukraine was balancing its reserves by selling the asset, most of the countries also restructured the reserves, but only through accumulation. Experts do not cease to say that by the end of the year Ukraine may lose all gold altogether, since in less than a year it was able to sell its untapped stock almost completely.

What leads to a rapid reduction in gold reserves?

Gold and foreign exchange reserves continue to declinerapid pace. This is due to the fact that tranches from the IMF were detained, while the need to pay external debts and gas in the winter remained. In a critical situation, the country poses the fact that out of the $ 1.6 billion that is included in the gold reserves today, only 2.6 billion is a foreign currency in accounts with deposits inclusive. The latter, as a rule, will stay in the bank for no more than a year. For the most part, Ukraine's gold and currency reserves are formed by securities, the total value of which is 9 billion. The remaining one billion is the price of 26 tons of gold. Sell ​​securities at the most favorable prices may not be so easy, as the structure of the investment portfolio is hidden from the public. An alarming number of rumors that securities at the moment are not classified as liquid assets, therefore, they can not be sold on the market.

What threatens Ukraine in 2015?

Taking into account that the gold reserve of Ukraine was exported forits limits by the new authorities, and the trenches are not foreseen from the IMF, it becomes clear that avoiding the further sale of gold simply does not work. The most terrible forecasts indicate that by the end of the year the country's gold reserves will not exceed 4.5 billion dollars. There are only three variants of events that do not cease to be considered by world experts in the world of economics.

• The Government of Ukraine will take drastic measures torestructuring of economic policy, including all necessary reforms under the IMF program. This will become a prerequisite for the resumption of funding from the fund and will avoid the difficult times.
• Ukraine can declare a default on foreign debts and give preference to the complete depletion of its gold reserves.
• The most unlikely scenario of events -this is divine intervention. The hope that another large and successful state will come to the aid of the state, which will solve all problems, does not die in the circles of officials and deputies.

Maybe not everything is lost?

The gold reserve of Ukraine for today is 26tons. After the global sale of the reserve in the middle of autumn, by the end of the year there was information in the media that the reserve bank managed to raise capital a little. According to official data, by the end of January 2015, the country's gold volume amounted to about 0.77 million troy ounces against the December figure of 0.76 million troy ounces. We can say that in dollar terms, Ukrainian gold reserves in January 2015 increased from 911.09 to 967.25 million dollars. The head of the National Bank of Ukraine said that despite the forecasts, the government is panning to increase Ukraine's gold and currency reserves for 2015 to $ 15 billion.

The actual situation

The gold reserve of Ukraine disappeared almost completelyin connection with large-scale sales by the government. Already on January 1, 2015, according to official data of the National Bank, the gold reserves amounted to $ 7.533 billion. In less than a year, the "financial cushion" sagged by about 60%. According to the NBU, the reduction in the reserve by 2.4 billion dollars only for December is explained by the dynamics of repayment of debts for gas from Russia. Influence on the reserve was provided by NBU interventions, which resulted in the sale of foreign currency in the amount of $ 831 million. The funds in the amount of $ 738 million went to pay off foreign debts. This statistic already includes the fact that Ukraine received assistance in the amount of $ 767 million, of which $ 617 million came from the European Commission, $ 20 million - that is, assistance from the IBRD and $ 130 million was brought by the sale of foreign exchange bonds.

Incompetence of government

Considering the question of where the goldenthe stock of Ukraine, it is worth saying that it, which reached its maximum for the entire period of the state's existence just one year ago, fell today to one of the historical lows. The situation can be attributed to the economic crisis, and the events that occur in the East of the country. On the other hand, one can safely blame the situation not only on the head of the NBU, but on the whole government. In the conditions of austerity, when all countries, including Russia, staying in a far from enviable situation, increase their reserves in order to strengthen national currencies, Ukraine's gold and currency reserves continue to decline. NBU does not cope with its direct functions - the preservation and accumulation of gold reserves.

"Stand out" on the background of the rest

World statistics showed that gold purchasesfor the last year in the world increased from 400 to 500 tons. This information was provided by the World Gold Council, which is located in London. During the second wave of metal sales in Ukraine, such states as Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Mauritius actively continued to build up their reserves. The only country in the world, besides Ukraine, which reduced its gold reserves is Mexico. Moreover, the currency reserves in the country fell to a ten-year low and today make up only 26 billion dollars. The reason for the phenomenon is simple: the state government decided to help Naftohaz Ukrainy in the return of Eurobonds and financed the import of natural fuel from the EU. The actions of the government of the country are either part of a well-conceived and still hidden policy of economic recovery, or a reason for complete incompetence in the sphere of finance. There are simply no other explanations for the situation.