Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated in an interview with local television channels that a strategic decision was made last year regarding the increase of gold reserves.
Modern.az reports that, according to Milli Majlis deputy Vugar Bayramov, the diversification of the State Oil Fund's investment directions plays a special role in the growth of state assets:
“In recent years, the Oil Fund, which has increased its investment in gold, has seen its gold portfolio reach 185 tons. The US dollar still dominates the Fund's investment portfolio. 68 percent of the portfolio is held in dollars. Gold investments constitute 22 billion 982 million dollars of the dollar portfolio, which is 32.8 percent.”
As can be seen, Azerbaijan is among the states that have sharply increased their gold reserves. Against the backdrop of rising gold prices, a further increase in these state reserves is being observed. In the last 1 year, the price of gold in the world market has increased 1.7 times. In the half-year results, the increase reached 1.2 times. In the last 1 month, gold has appreciated by 35 percent. Currently, the price of 1 gram of gold is 144 dollars.”
The deputy stated that, according to the assessments of the “Trade Economics” organization, Azerbaijan ranks among the top “25” in the world by the volume of gold reserves. In terms of reserve volume, the USA is first in the world with 8,133 thousand tons. The top three are completed by Germany (3,350 thousand tons) and Italy (2,452 thousand tons).
“As can be seen, Azerbaijan's flexible investment policy has led to a further increase in our foreign exchange reserves. This is also important for the sustainability of the economy and the uninterrupted provision of fiscal expenditures,” - V. Bayramov added.
