CARACAS, Feb.15 CARACAS, (Okeynews) Feb.15: Venezuelan central bank’s gold reserves fell by seven tonnes last year.
Venezuelan central bank’s reserves of gold decreased by seven tonnes the previous year, reaching the lowest level in 50 years as per financial statements issued by the bank on Tuesday.
The number of gold bars that the bank has in its vaults in Caracas decreased to a value of 79 tonnes. This is down from equivalent to 86 tonnes at the year’s end.
Authorities haven’t provided any details about the fate of the gold, which was previously used to help finance the national budget amid a long-running social and economic downturn.
In December last year, the reserve value stood at $4.56 billion, $493 million lower than at the end of 2020 due to a decline in the price for gold.
As per estimates from the bank, the gold price averaged USD 1,799.48 per troy ounce by 2021, compared with $1,833.76 for a troy ounce of gold in the year 2020.
The bank was home to over 300 tonnes of gold for a long time. However, from 2015 and 2017, the government started using gold to secure loans made to international banks.
A decline in the production of oil and United States sanctions, which have stopped the exports of crude oil, pushed the administration of President Nicolas Maduro to use gold as a source of funding.
In March of last year, the opposition claimed that the government had sent gold to Mali via Russian-owned aircraft and that it was then resold mainly within the United Arab Emirates in exchange for euros and U.S. dollars.