The gold reserves held by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) continue their decline and dropped 10 tons in one year, according to the balance sheet for the second half of 2022 released on Friday by the issuer.
The availability of gold in BCV bars, at the end of December 2022, was equivalent to about 69 tons, which is still the lowest level in 50 years, according to notes from the Central Bank’s financial statements.
In 2021 in the vaults there were about 79 tons.
The value of gold reserves at the end of last year was 3.910 million dollars, 650 million dollars less compared to December 2021, when they were valued at 4.560 million dollars.
The central bank did not detail the reasons for the drop in its assets and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The average price of gold estimated by the Venezuelan issuer in its balance sheet for the second semester was 1,775.02 dollars per troy ounce.
In the second half of 2021 the average value was higher, at $1,799.48 per troy ounce.
In mid-2022, a UK court rejected an effort by the government of President Nicolás Maduro to seize control of more than $1 billion of Venezuela’s gold reserves, which are held in the Bank of England vaults.
For decades, the BCV gold bars exceeded 300 tons, until in the period from 2015 to 2017 the authorities used them as collateral in loans with foreign banks to guarantee liquidity. A part of the gold was recovered and another was lost in the exchanges.
Subsequently, the financial needs to face the drop in oil production and the effect of US sanctions on the sale of crude oil led the Government to use monetary gold as one of its sources of income. Opponents denounced that the bars were sold in exchange for cash.
The Venezuelan issuer increased the injection of dollars in cash in the exchange market last year in order to anchor the exchange rate as part of the official policy to try to curb inflation, a measure that was accompanied by the restriction of credit and public spending.
But the strategy has shown cracks with the acceleration of prices in November and December, according to analysts. In 2022, inflation closed at 234%, said the executive vice president, Delcy Rodríguez in recent days.
