Uzbekistan's official reserve assets decreased by $837.9mn in May and amounted to $34.37bn as of June 1, 2023. The Central Bank informed about it. Inventories are down for the second month in a row.

It was reported that the gold reserves in the country decreased by $980.6bn and amounted to $23.2bn. The volume of the precious metal decreased by 0.3mn troy ounces (9.3 tons) to 11.9mn troy ounces (about 370.1 tons).

The gold quotation in May also decreased slightly — from $2,034 to $1,987.3 per ounce.

 Uzbekistan exported more than $3bn of gold January-April. In April, Uzbekistan reduced gold exports to $650mn. The total volume of precious metal deliveries abroad was $3.06bn.

Why do countriee need gold reserves?

In simple terms, this is insurance, the "safety cushion" of the state. Reserves are available for emergency situations in almost all countries of the world.

 Reserves are usually kept in highly liquid, i.e. quickly sold, assets. Gold and FX meet these requirements — they can be used for debt repayment or investments at any time.

Until 2017, information about Uzbekistan's reserves was not disclosed to the public. In November of the same year, it was known that the reserves amount to $26bn.

Uzbekistan's Muruntau mine cane in second on Kitco's global ranking. Approximately 53.1 tons of gold were extracted from the Muruntau mine in 2022. The mine itself stretches over a length of more than 3.3km, spans 2.5km in width, and reaches a depth of nearly 600m. The gold reserves and resources of the Muruntau mine surpass an impressive 4687.5 tons.