Russia will completely remove U.S. dollar assets from its National Wealth Fund (NWF), while increasing the share of the euro, Chinese yuan and gold, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday, with the changes expected within a month.
Russia’s NWF, which accumulates Russia’s oil revenue and was initially designed to support the pension system, stood at $185.9 billion as of May 1. It forms part of Russia’s gold and FX reserves that totalled $600.9 billion on May 27.
After the changes, the share of the euro will stand at 40%, the yuan at 30% and gold at 20%. The Japanese yen and British pound will account for 5% each, Siluanov said at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
“Like the central bank, we have decided to reduce investments of the NWF in dollar assets,” Siluanov said.
Russia on Wednesday said it plans to spend up to 400 billion roubles annually from the NWF in a bid to boost state investment in infrastructure projects and finance its development strategy. (
