RBI sold Gold worth $12 billion, claims report; Bank refutes
New Delhi, June 3: A media report today claimed that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sold gold worth 12 billion dollars in a span of two weeks but the central bank of the country termed it “not correct”.
Bloomberg Economics analysis said RBI may have resorted to reduction of its gold holdings to increase purchases of foreign-currency assets amid volatility linked to the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
The report estimated that the RBI may have added about USD 7.5 billion in foreign-currency assets after selling gold worth nearly USD 12 billion in two weeks ending May 22.
The assessment was based on publicly available data and was prepared by Abhishek Gupta, Senior India Economist at Bloomberg Economics.
The analysis pointed to a decline in the reported value of the RBI’s bullion reserves despite higher import duties on gold, which would typically support the valuation of such holdings
The Bloomberg report argued that the discrepancy could indicate gold sales by the central bank during the period.
However, the RBI dismissed the report, saying the physical stock of gold disclosed in its Monthly Bulletin remains unchanged at 880.52 tonnes.
The issue triggered widespread reactions, with the opposition parties attacking the government.
In a post on X, Congress party claimed that the government had sold the country’s gold.
The developments come at a time when India has slipped to the seventh position globally in terms of equity market capitalisation.
South Korea recently overtook India to claim the sixth spot, while Taiwan moved ahead earlier, pushing India down two places within weeks.
South Korea’s market capitalisation stood at about USD 5.01 trillion, compared with USD 4.85 trillion for companies listed on India’s National Stock Exchange.
