The Russian central bank announced that it will stop buying gold from banks as of tomorrow to meet rising household demand for the precious metal.
This is according to a the central bank said in a statement seen by Reuters.
It seem that there has been a significant uptick in the demand for precious metals due to the pressure on the Russian local currency.
“Currently, households’ demand for buying physical gold in bars has increased, driven, in particular, by the abolition of value-added tax on these operations,” the statements reads
Russia’s finance ministry announced warned that payments would be made in roubles if banks were unable to honor debts in the currency of issue due to sanctions.
Several Russian banks have been barred from using the SWIFT international payments network, making it difficult to transfer funds outside of the country.
