Govt Denies Reports of RBI Selling $12 Billion Worth of Gold
New Delhi: Sources in the Finance Ministry on Wednesday denied allegations that the central bank had sold $12 billion worth of gold to shore up India’s foreign exchange reserves.
A news agency report claimed that the central bank sold gold worth approximately $12 billion in the two-week period ending on May 22 in order to protect the country’s foreign exchange reserves against the pressure on the rupee and the increasing import bill.
Finance Ministry sources told ANI that the report was rejected by the central bank.
Meanwhile, the RBI’s latest Annual Report for 2025-26 shows that the central bank’s gold holdings increased during the financial year; This contradicts claims of large-scale sales of the precious metal.
According to the RBI Annual Report, “Total gold held by the Reserve Bank as on March 31, 2026 was 880.52 metric tonnes as against 879.58 metric tonnes on March 31, 2025, indicating an increase of 0.94 metric tonnes of gold during the year.”
Data shows that the RBI increased its gold reserves rather than decreasing them during FY26.
The report also stated that 312.32 metric tons of the total 880.52 metric tons of gold held by the central bank are kept as assets of the Issuance Department, while the remaining 568.20 metric tons are kept within the Banking Department.
The RBI’s annual accounts also revealed a significant increase in the value of gold assets, largely driven by the rise in global gold prices and the depreciation of the Indian rupee against the US dollar.
The value of gold held as an asset of the Banking Department increased by 63.6 per cent in FY26.
The annual report also showed that India’s foreign exchange reserves remained strong and stood at USD 691.11 billion as of March 31, 2026, compared to USD 668.33 billion in the previous year.
Gold reserves, including gold deposits, increased rapidly in value terms to $115.40 billion from $78.18 billion in the previous year.
Audited balance sheet and reserve data of the RBI shows that the central bank continues to maintain significant gold stocks and reports of $12 billion worth of gold sales are not supported by official records.
