Gold prices have surged to a five-month high, surpassing $2,000 per troy ounce, as reported by Forbes Russia.
During Friday's trading on the New York COMEX exchange, the value of the precious metal reached a peak of $2,008.5 per troy ounce. However, by the close of trading, gold had dipped to $1,994.4 per troy ounce.
The spike in gold prices is attributed to the escalating political situation in the Middle East. Analysts speculate that this development may lead the U.S. Federal Reserve to exercise caution in further raising interest rates.
Record gold purchases by central banks seeking to reduce their dependence on the dollar after sanctions were imposed on Russia have also bolstered the precious metal.
In August, Uzbekistan became the world's fourth-largest purchaser of gold. The central bank acquired 9 tons of the precious metal, ranking just behind China, Poland, and Turkey.
Since May, Uzbekistan has temporarily halted gold exports. Year-to-date gold export figures stand at $5.63bn.
Earlier, Daryo reported that Uzbekistan's gold and foreign exchange reserves have fallen for six consecutive months, reaching a low of $31.04bn, the lowest since April 2020. In September alone, the reserves decreased by $1.65bn, and they've shrunk by $4.7bn since the year's start. Foreign currency reserves hit a record low of $7.39bn, down by $1.3 billion (-15%) in September, the lowest since 2013.
The gold reserve, despite a physical volume increase, lost $335mn in value in September, now at $23.09bn. These declining reserves are due to a trade deficit and a depreciating national currency, which may require Central Bank intervention. Additionally, remittances from abroad have decreased compared to the previous year.
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