Russia’s international reserves fall $15 billion in a week to $753.8 billion, Central Bank says

Lead

Russia’s international reserves fell by $15.1 billion in the week to May 22, 2026, to stand at $753.8 billion, the Central Bank reported on May 28. The regulator attributed the decline to “negative revaluation,” a term that reflects changes in the market value of reserve assets rather than active selling or buying.

The drop follows a week of gains: as of May 15, reserves stood at $768.9 billion, according to the Bank of Russia. The central bank’s weekly data, released in statements carried by TASS, show a volatile period for the country’s foreign assets, with swings driven by currency and gold price movements.

Coverage comparison

All reporting on this development comes from TASS, the Russian state news agency, which cited official Central Bank statements. The agency’s coverage spans multiple weeks, offering a chronological picture of reserve movements. For the week ending May 22, TASS headlined the decline as a “decrease,” while for other weeks it highlighted increases. The tone remained neutral in all instances, with attributions to the regulator.

No independent international outlets are represented in the available material. The figures originate solely from Russian official sources, which means they should be read as the Central Bank’s own accounting, not an external audit.

Key claims

• Russia’s international reserves stood at $753.8 billion at the end of the day on May 22, 2026, down $15.1 billion (or 2%) from the previous week’s $768.9 billion, according to the Central Bank.
• The decline was “mainly due to negative revaluation,” the regulator said in a statement reported by TASS.
• Reserves reached a record high of $826.8 billion on January 30, 2026, according to multiple TASS reports.
• In the following weeks, reserves fluctuated: $771 billion on May 8 (up $13.5 billion), then $753.8 billion on May 22 (down $15.1 billion), then $748.7 billion on May 29 (down $5.1 billion), then $749.7 billion on June 5 (up $1 billion), and finally $729.3 billion on June 12 (down $20.4 billion). These figures come from Central Bank statements as reported by TASS.
• As of June 1, 2026, reserves were $747.395 billion, representing a 1.49% decline compared to the beginning of April, according to a separate Central Bank statement. In May, foreign exchange reserves remained virtually unchanged at $421.524 billion, while the value of monetary gold decreased by 3.45% to $325.872 billion.
• The reserves are defined by the Bank of Russia as highly liquid foreign assets available to the central bank and the Russian government, including foreign currency, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), a reserve position in the IMF, and monetary gold.

Perspectives

From the Central Bank’s perspective, the weekly declines are framed as technical revaluations rather than policy actions. The regulator does not attribute changes to sanctions in its weekly statements, but background notes in the TASS articles recall that Western countries froze Russia’s gold and foreign currency reserves and prohibited transactions related to their management following the start of Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine.

Analysts monitoring Russian finances have noted that reserve levels remain far above pre-operation levels, though the freeze on a portion of assets limits their usability. The record high in January underscored the scale of accumulation, while recent volatility reflects shifts in global gold and currency markets.

The available material does not include commentary from independent economists or Western officials, so the article cannot offer external assessments of the implications of these reserve movements.

Corrections and context

Earlier reporting from the same source had indicated that reserves reached $771 billion as of May 8 and $768.9 billion as of May 15. The Central Bank’s subsequent statement for May 22 revised the May 15 figure to $768.9 billion, consistent with the earlier report. No discrepancies were found among the weekly figures themselves.

The record high of $826.8 billion on January 30 was consistently cited across all reports, providing a reference point for evaluating the subsequent decline of roughly $97 billion over more than four months.