Russia Will Switch Its US$186 Billion Sovereign Wealth Fund To Other Currencies / Gold Price Rises Above The US1900

Russian Finance Minister Siluanov said last week that the country’s sovereign wealth fund with a scale of US$186 billion decided to dump all US dollars and US dollar-denominated assets, and instead invest in the euro, the people and gold. It also pointed out that the relevant changes will occur within the next month, reducing the share of the US dollar from 35% to zero, the euro to 40%, the renminbi to 30%, the pound sterling to 5%, the yen to maintain 5%, and gold Accounted for 20%. It is also expected that this move will help strengthen the role of the renminbi in Russia and make Sino-Russian relations closer. The Russian Finance Minister’s remarks clearly intend to take the lead in putting pressure on the US before the US and Russia summit in Geneva, Switzerland on June 16. And if the Russian sovereign wealth fund conducts the above-mentioned de-dollarization operation, it is conceivable that the euro, renminbi and gold will benefit, as for the US dollar and the British pound may be under pressure.

Last Friday, due to weak non-agricultural data, the yield of US long-term Treasury bonds fell, pushing the price of gold up by 1.10% to US$1,891.50 per ounce. However, this only recovered half of the over 2.0% drop last Thursday, implying that from now on, the upward momentum of gold will be more sensitive to negative price factors. In the US market on Monday, the price of gold rose slightly and is currently trading near the daily high of $1,894 per ounce. The May non-agricultural employment report released by the United States last week showed that the unemployment rate fell to 5.8%, which was less than expected. Even though the number of new jobs created in May was twice that in April, the decline in participation rates and the continuous surge in hourly wages indicate that the problem of labour supply shortages continues. As of 08:44 Hong Kong time, spot gold was quoted at US$1900.21 per ounce.