Latest news with #BankofRussia
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Russian precious metals exports to China surge in H1 2025
Russian exports of precious metals including gold and silver to China have significantly increased in the first half of the year, with an 80% jump to $1bn compared to the same period last year, reported Bloomberg, citing data from Trade Data Monitor. This surge is attributed to record gold prices, which have risen by around 28% this year, driven by various global economic factors. These factors reportedly include heightened geopolitical risks, trade tensions, and robust buying from central banks and exchange-traded funds. As the world's second-largest gold producer, Russia's annual output exceeds 300 tonnes (t). However, since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has been excluded from Western trading hubs such as London and New York. This has left China as one of the few major markets available for Russian precious metals. Despite the Bank of Russia halting large-scale gold purchases, domestic retail demand within Russia has surged, reaching a record high in 2024. Russian citizens have increasingly turned to precious metals as a means to protect their savings amidst economic uncertainty. Russian palladium and platinum producer MMC Norilsk Nickel has responded to the market conditions by increasing its exports to China this year. The prices for these metals have risen significantly, with palladium and platinum prices increasing by 38% and 59%, respectively, this year. In the first half of 2025, Norilsk Nickel reported that the production of palladium and platinum reached 1.3 million ounces, a 5% decrease year-on-year, and 335,000oz, a 6% decrease year-on-year, respectively. All platinum group metals were sourced from the company's own Russian feedstock. "Russian precious metals exports to China surge in H1 2025" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Russian Precious Metals Sales to China Hit $1 Billion
(Bloomberg) -- Russian precious metals exports to China almost doubled in the first half of the year, as record gold prices boost revenue. Why the Federal Reserve's Building Renovation Costs $2.5 Billion Milan Corruption Probe Casts Shadow Over Property Boom How San Jose's Mayor Is Working to Build an AI Capital Chinese imports of Russian precious metal ores and concentrates, including gold and silver, jumped 80% to $1 billion from the same period a year earlier, according to data from Trade Data Monitor, which sources information from China's customs office. Bullion prices have climbed about 28% this year, boosted by heightened geopolitical risks and trade tensions, alongside buying by central banks and exchange-traded funds. Russia, the world's second-largest gold producer with annual output of more than 300 tons, has been shut out of Western trading hubs like London and New York since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Bank of Russia, formerly the world's largest central bank gold buyer, has not resumed large-scale purchases, leaving China as one of the country's few remaining major markets. Gold miners in Russia have also been buoyed by growing domestic retail demand, which reached a record high in 2024 as Russians turned to precious metals to safeguard their savings. Russia's MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC, one of the world's top producers of palladium and platinum, has ramped up exports to China this year. Prices for the two metals jumped 38% and 59%, respectively, this year. A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border Thailand's Changing Cannabis Rules Leave Farmers in a Tough Spot Elon Musk's Empire Is Creaking Under the Strain of Elon Musk How Starbucks' CEO Plans to Tame the Rush-Hour Free-for-All What the Tough Job Market for New College Grads Says About the Economy ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
War-weary Russian banks are reportedly eyeing state bailouts as bad loans pile up
Some big banks in Russia are reportedly getting ready to ask for an emergency bailout if their finances don't improve over the next year. Executives in at least three of the country's big banks have considered the risk that they may need to ask Russia's central bank for a bailout in the next year, Bloomberg reported this week. The banks, which the Bank of Russia has classified as critically important to the nation's financial system, have had private discussions about how to approach the central bank for a bailout, the report said, adding that the discussions were growing more urgent. The talks took place because the lenders' balance sheets look worse than what the official data suggests, Bloomberg said, citing the people and internal documents. The likelihood of asking for a bailout will depend on how many bad loans the banks continue to accumulate this year, the sources said. Stress in the banking sector is another sign of how Russia's economy has struggled to bear the costs of its war in Ukraine, though its banking system looks to be on solid footing, according to the official statistics. Russian banks took in a record 4 trillion rubles, or $50.9 billion in profits in 2024. Monthly net profits also swelled by a third in June compared to the same level last year, according to central bank data released on Friday. Russia's central bank also says the nation has a low share of bad debt overall. The share of "problem loans" to corporate borrowers stood at around 4% as of October 2024, according to the Bank of Russia's latest Financial Stability Review. The review acknowledged that the creditworthiness of Russia's corporate sector has "slightly declined," due to "serious delinquencies seriously increasing" among small businesses. Consumers are also falling behind on payments, with the share of delinquent unsecured consumer loans that were more than 90 days delinquent rising to 10.5% at the end of the first quarter. Top bankers in Russia have also expressed concern about their finances and the outlook for the coming year. Herman Gref, the CEO Sberbank, said the bank's path forward for the next year would "not be easy" when speaking to investors at a meeting in June. He pointed to the declining quality of loans and more companies restructuring their debt. "I hope, as always, we will be able to find joint plans to get through these difficult times," he said. Concerns are rising throughout Russia's economy as the Ukraine war continues through its third year. Borrowing costs remain near all-time-highs. The Bank of Russia raised its interest rate to a record 21% last year, before trimming it to 20% in June. The nation is also running a steep budget deficit and quickly depleting its rainy day fund. Liquid assets in Russia's national wealth fund dropped to 28 trillion rubles, or $35.6 billion in May, down around 71% from levels at the start of the Ukraine war, according to an analysis from the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Russia Notches Long-Awaited Win in Fight Against Inflation
Monthly price growth in Russia slowed significantly in June, the first meaningful sign that the central bank's battle against inflation may be turning a corner after a protracted period of ultra-tight monetary policy. While the annual inflation rate remains at 9%, well above the central bank's 4% target, current price growth now aligns with that goal after decelerating from the previous month, according to data from the Bank of Russia.
Mint
6 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Russian Banks Have Discussed Seeking Bailouts Within Next Year
Top executives at some of Russia's biggest banks have privately discussed seeking a state-funded bailout if the level of bad loans on their books continues to worsen over the next year. At least three lenders identified as systemically important by the Bank of Russia have considered the possibility that they may need to be recapitalized in the next 12 months, according to current and former officials and documents reviewed by Bloomberg News. The banks have discussed internally how they would raise the prospect of a bailout with the central bank should that become necessary. The scenario arises because their assessment of the quality of their loan books is far worse than what official data show, according to the people and documents. The people, granted anonymity to disclose information that isn't public, said any bailout request was dependent on a continued rise in the volume of bad loans over the next year. Still, they said the discussions were becoming more urgent throughout the banking industry. On paper the banking system is in relatively good health, with profits robust even amid a rise in so-called non-performing loans to companies and households with the central bank's key interest rate at a near-record high 20%. Officially, levels of bad debt remain well below those recorded in past financial crunches and that were defused by the Russian authorities. However, the central bank itself has advised lenders to focus on restructuring credit instead of recognizing the full extent of souring loans. The Bank of Russia didn't respond to an emailed request for comment. Central bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina downplayed the risk of a systemic crisis at a financial forum in St. Petersburg on July 2, saying Russia's banking system was 'well capitalized' and had capital reserves of 8 trillion rubles . 'As the body that supervises banks, I say with full responsibility that these concerns are absolutely unfounded,' she said. The central bank has said it could release what's known as a macroprudential capital buffer, allowing banks to absorb losses and operate with temporarily lower capital ratios. That step may ease some pressure on the system, unless the volume of losses were to go beyond what the buffer was designed to absorb. Officially, the share of bad-quality loans to corporate borrowers stood at 4% as of April 1, while the proportion of unsecured consumer debt in arrears of 90 days or more was at 10.5%. Still, top bankers have begun to raise the alarm about the prospects for the next year. 'It is already clear that it will not be easy,' Herman Gref, chief executive officer of state-owned Sberbank, Russia's largest lender, said of the prospects for the next year at the annual shareholders meeting last month, because loan portfolio quality is deteriorating with companies increasingly needing to restructure their debts. 'I hope, as always, we will be able to find joint plans to get through these difficult times,' he added. At VTB, Russia's second-largest lender, the share of non-performing loans from individuals in its retail portfolio reached 5% in May, amounting to 377 billion rubles, the bank's First Deputy Chairman Dmitriy Pianov said, Vedomosti newspaper reported July 1. That indicator has risen by 1.2 percentage points since the beginning of the year. The share of bad loans could hit 6%-7% by 2026, Pianov said, though he also noted this was below the peak of 8%-10% seen in 2014-16. Clients are anxious about high interest rates, and the share of bad loans is growing though banks are restructuring them for now and have plenty of reserves, according to top managers at two systemically-important Russian lenders, asking not to be identified discussing internal matters. While there's little sign so far of a crisis, which could anyway be resolved by injections of funds, a lot of data has been classified and the full picture may not be visible, one of the people said. Russia has used bailouts and other mechanisms to recapitalize failing banks in the past. In 2017, the central bank spent at least 1 trillion rubles to rescue three large private banks, Otkritie, Promsvyazbank and B&N Bank, a move it said was necessary to save the financial system. The central bank established the Banking Sector Consolidation Fund in 2017 to inject capital into lenders buckling under pressure from bad loans and to rehabilitate them. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
