Gold reserve fluctuation stems from change in valuation frequency: RBI

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India said that it hasn’t sold or traded in gold and that the valuation changes that have begun to appear in its Weekly Statistical Supplement (WSS) were due to changes in the frequency at which the exercise was being conducted.

“The fluctuation in value depicted in Weekly Statistical Supplement is due to change in frequency of revaluation from monthly to weekly basis and is based on international prices of gold rates,” RBI said in a tweet during the weekend.

ET reported Friday that the RBI had been a net buyer of gold based on the data disclosed in the WSS, following phone interviews with economists and bankers. ET had sent an email to RBI asking whether the numbers published in the WSS could be interpreted as the purchase and sale of gold, but the central bank did not respond to the query.


The total amount of gold with RBI at the end of August was 19.87 million troy ounces, according to the latest data.

Central banks globally are diversifying foreign exchange reserves by holding some portion of this in the form of gold. India has been buying gold sporadically since November 2017 and has acquired close to 2 million troy ounces since then. While most of this is purchased from the open market, some of it comprises smuggled gold confiscated by the customs authorities from time to time.