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[loganair] 25/3/2020 14:33

"Russia has the best hand at the geopolitical poker table. The Kremlin, for 20 years, has been doing the opposite of everyone else by reducing their national debt to near zero, and buying thousands of tons of gold."

Moscow has been boosting its gold and foreign currency holdings in recent years to shield its economy against any turmoil. According to the latest data published by Russia's central bank, the reserves have recently eclipsed $580 billion.

[loganair] 28/2/2020 13:42

My thoughts are the CBR will purchase 100 tons of gold this year and maybe 80 tons in 2021.

Gold being valued in USD - The CBR has been very clever buying gold in local roubles from locally mined gold thereby not needing to exchange Roubles for USD which would have weakened the RUB/USD exchange rate.

Once the price of gold started to rise then the CBR reduce their own purchases of gold and instead has locally mined gold sold internationally and held in the UK.

[loganair] 28/2/2020 12:52

Sales of Russian gold abroad jumped eight-fold last year to $5.7 billion, with almost all of that volume purchased by the United Kingdom.

According to customs data seen by RBC business news outlet, gold exports to Britain have grown more than 12 times in terms of value, to $5.33 billion.

Supplies to the UK accounted for 93 percent of all Russian gold exports.

In physical terms, gold exports from Russia to the United Kingdom in 2019 increased 11 times, from 10.4 tons to 113.5 tons.

Almost the entire volume of deliveries to the UK is gold bullion. Taking into the account the London standard (an ingot weighing about 12.5 kg), it turns out that Russia delivered at least 9,000 ingots to the UK last year.

Experts say that, in general, the scale of gold inflows to the United Kingdom most likely reflects global trends in demand for the precious metal and the country's traditional role as a center for its trade and storage.

Russia has continued filling its coffers with gold, having added almost seven tons of the precious metal to its reserves in January.



Much of this gold to Britain will come from the CBR buying around 90 tons less gold in 2019 then it did in 2018 with most the rest coming from an increase in gold mined in Russia.

I wouldn't be surprised if the amount of gold that the CBR buy in 2020, maybe round 100 tons which will be down from the amount they purchased in 2019.


What is Russia going to do with all these extra dollars this gold selling is going to bring in?

In September Rosneft changed is base selling currency from the USD to the Euro.

If the CBR exchange these extra USD from the sale of this gold into Roubles will only cause the Rouble to strengthen which is the very last thing the CBR wants to see happen. The CBR wish to keep the Rouble exchange rate at 60/65 to the USD.

[loganair] 20/2/2020 16:34

Russia ended lasted year with 2,276.8 tons of Gold.

Its demand for gold however fell by 42% last year after record purchases in 2018 as risks related to Western sanctions against Russia receded. The share of gold in its forex and gold reserves rose by 8 percentage points over five years to 20%.

“The central bank’s need for gold is declining, as it is already the third largest asset after the euro and dollar,” Dmitry Dolgin, chief economist at ING Bank in Moscow, said.

[loganair] 06/2/2020 10:25

I've been hearing more and more that the much of the electricity for all the new EV's that will be coming along over the next 25 years will be coming from Gas generated electricity which will be positive for the likes of Gazprom (JRS Largest Investment.)

[loganair] 30/1/2020 12:36

Russia will relax tourist visa rules, allowing stays of up to 6 months & simplified applications:


Moscow daily Izvestia reports cross-party parliamentary support for allowing foreigners to stay for six months on a single tourist visa, as well as making acquiring one a lot easier, by only asking for a hotel reservation. At present, vacations are capped at 30 days and require an invitation. A separate category for business travelers provides for a stay of up to 90 days, within a six month period. But these permits are often expensive and involve a cumbersome application procedure.

The newspaper claims that a bill to this effect has already been drafted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the intention of increasing the attractiveness of the country and assisting the development of the tourism sector. It follows a favorable reaction to the introduction of short term e-visas for certain locations, such as Vladivostok and Saint Petersburg, and the Fan ID system used for the football jamboree, which was regarded as a success.

Experts suggest the liberalization of entry into Russia is likely to immediately boost visitor numbers by between 10-30 percent.

As mentioned, the bill would simplify the application procedure. At present, a Russian embassy can only issue a visa if there's an invitation from an organization that is accredited in the federal register of tour operators.

United Russia Deputy Chairman Andrey Isaev who says the party is ready to support the proposal. He points out that Russia has a large number of attractions and resorts which are interesting for foreign visitors.

Despite its status as the largest country on earth, Russia's tourism sector is underdeveloped, even in comparison with much smaller European countries.

The country isn't short on attractions. Moscow is Europe's largest city and Russia boasts 29 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including Lake Baikal, the Volcanoes of Kamchatka and the historic centers of Saint Petersburg and Yaroslavl. Additionally, there are world-class skiing facilities at Sochi, the beaches of the Black Sea and, for the more adventurous, vast national parks, such as the 83,384 hectares ‘Roar of the Tiger’ facility in the Far East.

[loganair] 24/1/2020 09:46

Russia will continue to be the biggest player on the global energy market with plans to increase natural gas deliveries to Europe and Asia, according to the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev.

"We believe gas is very ecologically friendly. It produces 45 percent less emissions than coal and 30 percent less than oil," he said at the "Global Energy Challenge" session of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

According to Dmitriev, Russia accounts for 20 percent of the world's gas supplies, and will continue to increase them. "We expect to grow gas exports by 34 percent in the next 20 years, while oil exports will grow only around 12 percent."

Dmitriev pointed out that Russia has "built great infrastructure to supply gas to Asia, which definitely needs it."

[loganair] 22/1/2020 10:18

The BRICS group of emerging economies, which is comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is open to welcoming new member countries, according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

The group of five countries represents more than 40 percent of the world’s population.

BRICS states are set to create a new joint payment system called BRICS Pay that will be similar to existing Apple Pay and Samsung Pay services.


Who can I see possibly joining....Iran, Syria, maybe Vietnam.

[loganair] 21/1/2020 13:03

Russia's gold reserves grew by 159 tonnes in 2019 to a total of 2,270.56 tonnes while China purchased an estimated 100 tonnes in 2019, closing out at 1,948 tonnes during the same period.

The total volume of Russia’s gold reserves is closing in on Italy (2,452 tonnes) and France (2,436 tonnes).

The continued growth of Russia’s gold reserves brings it ever-closer to the 20th century Soviet record of 2,800 tonnes, built up on the eve of the Second World War.

[loganair] 20/1/2020 17:06

Russian mining giant Nornickel (JRS 4th Largest Investment) shares hit record high on soaring palladium prices.

The value of the stock rose to 22,100 rubles (US$359) per share on the back of the rallying palladium prices. The metal, which was trading at about $2,500 an ounce on Monday, is now more expensive than gold. It has jumped by more than 25 percent in the last two weeks alone, and almost doubled in value over the last year.

One of the world’s largest producers of nickel and palladium, Nornickel accounts for about 40 percent of global palladium production. It operates mines in Russia, Botswana, Australia, South Africa, and Finland. The company’s revenue was more than $6 billion last year.

[loganair] 20/1/2020 16:56

An ordinary dividend of 10.00p per share (2018: 6.0p per share) will be paid on 13th March 2020 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 7th February 2020. The ex-dividend date is 6th February 2020.

[loganair] 17/1/2020 13:58

The appointment of a new prime minister has boosted the Russian stock market to new record highs today, with the national currency holding on to gains reached over the past 18 months.

The ruble continued gaining against major currencies on Friday, after accelerating growth on the news of the appointment of Mikhail Mishustin as Russia's new prime minister earlier in the week.

Analysts credit a positive market reaction to the changes in the Russian government."The government's likely focus on investment should support yields and the ruble's carry attractiveness," Sébastien Barbé, head of emerging market research at Credit Agricole said.

"Once the ruble stabilizes, investors may feel the timing is right to add to the ruble carry trade," he added.

[loganair] 16/1/2020 19:36

Russian gold and foreign currency reserves have hit $557.5 billion in the first 10 days of the new year, according to the latest figures released by the country's central bank.

The current level is 10 percent higher than the target level set by the regulator and the highest since October 2008, when foreign reserves amounted to nearly $547 billion. Russia spent a significant part of its reserves supporting the ruble in the aftermath of the financial crisis and after the West hit Moscow with sanctions in wake of the 2014 conflict in Ukraine. Since then, Russia floated the Rouble and has been rebuilding its forex reserves from the $350 billion low to their current level.

Russia's international reserves are highly liquid foreign assets comprising stocks of monetary gold, foreign currencies and Special Drawing Right (SDR) assets, which are at the disposal of the Central Bank of Russia and the government.

The country has been steadily boosting and reshaping its international holdings, reducing the amount of US dollars in favour of other currencies, including the Chinese yuan and the euro. Moscow has been also extensively investing in gold, with bullion reserves standing at more than $110 billion as of 01st January 2020.

[loganair] 13/1/2020 23:12

While last year was marked by political and economic uncertainty across the world, Greece, Russia and Italy have been Europe’s top performing stock markets.

Some investors dismissed these markets as “too dangerous, too politically unstable, too reliant on commodities, too weak economically or a combination of all four,” Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell said in a note to clients.“But this just goes to show that buying what is comfortable is rarely the route to big profits,” he added.

Last year was good for Russian stocks. The country’s major MOEX Russia Index was up by 29 percent.

According to Mould, “Russia emerged from a recession, helped by interest rate cuts and the carefully crafted policies of its respected central bank head, Elvira Nabiullina.”

[loganair] 30/12/2019 10:05

Russia best performing stock market in 2019.

As long as oil prices hold up, Russian market forecast to do well during 2020.

Central Bank of Russia has done an excellent job in stabalizing the Rouble and to keep it in the range of 60rub to 65rub to the USD.

The CBR has been increasing its foreign reserves cleverly by being able to buy gold in local currency, the Rouble instead of having to sell roubles to buy dollars.

Putin has also been clever has he doesn't really interfere with the CBR and lets the CBR Governor just get on with it.

2019 Russia has been running a budget Surplus of 3% and is expected to carry on doing the same during 2020. Russia runs its budget on the price of oil of just $40 per bbl, any price above the Russian Government runs a budget surplus.

[loganair] 28/11/2019 12:26

Russia’s foreign currency and gold reserves have been steadily growing over recent years and have already exceeded half a trillion dollars, thanks to the budget rule.

The rule, designed to shield and stabilize the nation’s economy, implies that if oil prices are higher than $42 per barrel, then extra money from the Russian crude and gas exports is transferred to the Russian National Wealth Fund. Thus if crude prices remain above the threshold stipulated by the budget law, Russia is set to further boost its bullion and forex reserves, according to the central bank of Russia.

[loganair] 22/11/2019 11:31

Russia added 9.33 tons of gold to reserves in October bringing their total to 2,251.892 Tons.

CBR Gold reserves are worth $107.902 billion constitute 19.9% of overall Russian reserves.

Russia added 171 tons of gold to its reserves in 2014, 208 tons in 2015, 199 tons in 2016, 224 tons in 2017 & 271 tons in 2018. In the first 10 months of 2019 the CBR has added 137 tons.

The Central Bank of Russia added 86% of its domestic gold mining production of 314 tons to reserves in 2018.

Russia’s VTB bank to supply 15-20 T of gold to China in next 12 months.

[loganair] 13/11/2019 18:43

The Russian stock market has delivered the biggest returns to investors around the world this year. Global rate cuts and increased dividend payouts have been driving investor interest in Russia.

The MSCI Russia Index which tracks the 23 largest Russian publicly-listed companies has surged 44 percent since the start of the year, according to Sberbank analyst Cole Akeson.

That is almost four times the returns of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index which includes Russian stocks and companies listed in 23 other developing economies such as China, Brazil, Mexico and India, the analyst told business news outlet RBC.

The stock market’s current surge has been driven by higher global risk appetite and a search for higher-paying assets amid interest rate cuts, said Mikhail Ganelin, senior analyst at Aton. He explained that it has benefited Russian stocks, which are seen as riskier and have lower levels of liquidity.

Russian companies increased their dividend payouts in 2019, which was one of the reasons of the MSCI index’s growth. The dividend yield on the Russian market is among the highest in the world at 6.7 percent, compared to just two percent on the S&P 500.

Last week, the MOEX Russia Index set a new record high, passing 3,000 points for the first time in its history. The index comprised of shares of more than 50 major Russian companies, including Sberbank, Gazprom and Rosneft, has risen by more than 30 percent over the last 12 months.

[loganair] 11/11/2019 10:12

MoneyWeek - Outside the UK there is value too. If you are seeking a place where the short-term political discount might be even more overdone than in the UK, Pictet Asset Management’s chief strategist Luca Paolini suggests you might look at Russia: it’s on a price/earnings ratio of six times — half that of the MSCI Emerging Markets index — and a price to book value of not much more than one.

If you can cope with owning a lot of oil and mining stocks, the JPMorgan Russian Securities Trust (LSE: JRS) yields nearly 4%.

[loganair] 25/10/2019 12:25

The Bank of Russia has cut interest rates to 6.5% on the back of low inflation.

The central bank said further rate cuts could be on the horizon if inflation, which it expects to come in between 3.2-3.7% this year, does not pick-up.

Announcing the cut from 7%, the bank said: “[The] inflation slowdown is overshooting the forecast, inflation expectations continue to decrease.

The bank also pointed to the government’s “persistent delay” in spending on its $400 billion National Projects program of infrastructure investment as a reason for weak demand across the economy.

It said: “since the beginning of 2019, fiscal policy has had a constraining effect on economic activity. This is in part related to a slower than expected implementation of National Projects planned by the government.

The bank’s official target for the inflation rate is 4% — the level recorded in September. However, it expects it will continue to fall, dropping below 3% at the start of next year.

“If the situation develops in line with the baseline forecast, the Bank of Russia will consider the necessity of further key rate reduction at one of the upcoming Board of Directors’ meetings,” the bank said. The next meeting will take place on 13 December.

[loganair] 20/10/2019 17:28

Russia added 12 tons of gold to its reserves in September. Russia’s total gold holdings currently amount to 72.1 million troy ounces (2,242.56 tons) and are worth around $108 billion, according to the latest data from the central bank. The country’s international reserves, which include foreign currency and other high liquid assets, exceeded $535 billion as of 11th October.

[loganair] 03/10/2019 22:26

On the night of October 2, 2019, Wizz Air, the European low-cost airline, commenced scheduled service between the Russian city of St. Petersburg and London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The daily flights from Pulkovo Airport to London Luton Airport are operated by a subsidiary airline Wizz Air UK.

Wizz Air performs flights on St. Petersburg — London route on comfortable Airbus A321 aircraft with capacity of up to 230 passengers on board in economy class configuration.

Tickets for Wizz Air UK flights can be booked on the website of Pulkovo Airport in the Trip Planner section, as well as on wizzair.com at a price from 29.99 euros / 25.99 pounds sterling (one way, including all taxes).

[loganair] 02/10/2019 23:17

The foreign reserves of the CBR in percentage terms as of:

....31 March 2018 / 30 Jun 2018 / 30 Sept 2018 / 31 Dec 2018 / 31 Mar 2019

Euro...22.2%.........32.0%..........22.6%..........31.7%..........30.3%
US$....43.7%.........21.9%..........32.1%..........22.7%..........23.6%
Gold...17.2%.........16.7%..........16.6%..........18.1%..........18.2%
Yuan....5.0%.........14.7%..........14.4%..........14.2%..........14.2%
£.......7.9%..........6.3%...........6.5%...........6.0%...........6.6%
Yen.....0.0%..........4.5%...........4.2%...........4.0%...........3.9%
Can$....3.0%..........2.9%...........2.7%...........2.5%...........2.5%
A$......1.0%..........1.0%...........0.9%...........0.8%...........0.8%


International Reserves of the CBR as of 20 September 2019 $532.9bln, up from $462bln one year ago.

International Reserves of the CBR as of 28 June 2019 $517.1bln, up from $455.5bln one year ago.

[loganair] 29/9/2019 21:32

Authorities in Ukraine intend to resume regular passenger transportation with Russia’s Crimea, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure. Crimean authorities have welcomed the plans.

“We are constructing entry-exit checkpoints. I think that everything will be finished on time, as ordered by the president [of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky],” Krikliy said. His words follow President Zelensky’s order in July to complete setting up checkpoints at the border with Crimea by December 20 of this year.