Ruble Makes Putin Tremble

There are no easy escapes this time

For a brief moment, just as I was typing the Russian Finance Ministry’s website to check the status of the Russian National Wealth Fund, I had a feeling that it wouldn’t open. I had my doubts, but I also desperately wanted to know its current status. It didn’t open.

Of course, it shouldn’t have opened because the Ruble has broken through the 100 barrier against the dollar like a hot knife through butter. How far it will go from here remains to be seen. I doubt we’re in freefall territory yet, but I have no doubt that we are very close to it.

Although I was unable to find the latest status of Russia’s national wealth fund, I do have the numbers from September, when Russia’s savings piggy bank stood at $53.236 billion. More than a quarter of that asset is in gold. Russia has been quietly selling gold in the second half of this year, masking the fact that they were actually drawing money from the national wealth fund.

Gold Position in NWF:

• June — 329.795 tonnes
• July — 303.579 tonnes
• August- 298.84 tonnes
• September — 293.189 tonnes

The Russian Finance Ministry has blocked access to the data. I’m pretty confident they will keep it under wraps…