We have to accumulate reserves and must not allow central bank decapitalization, the source said. He added that Putin s statement had been made to demonstrate that he was willing to take extreme measures to help ease the crisis in the eastern SIberian region, where people have been flooded out of their homes into rescue centres and tent camps. Yakutsk would not comment on the issue. He said that Putin and President of the Republic of Sakha, Mikhail Nikolayev, would meet again on May 29 in Moscow to discuss the crisis situation. Russia s 388.7 tonnes of official gold stocks are held by the central bank and the state precious metals and gems repository, Gokhran.
Russian law allows republics, where gold is mined, to hold some stocks, too.
Yakutiya is one of such regions. The organisation says in its quarterly Gold Demand Trends publication that demand in the 27 markets monitored by the industry-funded organisation set a new first quarter record, boosted by strong performances in India, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico. In Europe, jewellery demand was largely unchanged from a year earlier at 51,1 tons - making up nearly all of total gold demand, which stood at 51,9 tons. It was definitely an excuse for funds to start getting a little bit out of their longs, said a New York bullion dealer. I assume Russia is going to be slow as with anything else they try to do.