Share of gold in end-December Serbian FX reserves at 13.4 pct

BELGRADE - National Bank of Serbia (NBS) FX reserves at the end of December 2024 included 47.9 t of gold that was worth around 3.9 mln euros, accounting for 13.4 pct of the total national FX reserves, over six times more relative to end-July 2012, according to figures released by the central bank.

The NBS said it was one of the banks with the highest percentage of gold in FX reserves in the wider region and that it was regularly buying domestically produced gold from Serbia Zijin Copper, which acquired the RTB Bor mining and smelting complex in 2018.

The NBS has purchased 2.9 t of gold from the company since the beginning of 2024, and a total of 10.4 t since the 2018 acquisition.

The figures said the NBS had also purchased 5 t of gold abroad in early July 2024, increasing the gold reserves by 7.9 t relative to the beginning of last year.

The NBS also said it had purchased a total of 17 t of gold since 2019.