The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday dismissed reports claiming that it may have sold gold worth about $12 billion to bolster foreign exchange reserves and support the rupee amid economic pressures linked to the ongoing US-Iran conflict.
RBI's Official Clarification
In a press release, RBI stated: "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come across reports in certain sections of the media about RBI's sale of gold. The RBI emphasises that these reports are not correct. In this context, it is clarified that the physical stock of gold is disclosed by the RBI in its Monthly Bulletin. The latest edition is available on the RBI website, and the physical stock of gold remains unchanged at 880.52 tonnes as of date."
The statement further added: "Members of the public are, therefore, advised to rely on official information published by the RBI from time to time in such matters."
PIB Fact Check
Later, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) also issued a fact check post regarding the Bloomberg report. Citing RBI, it said the central bank's gold share in foreign exchange reserves had in fact increased. The clarification ultimately contradicted the claims that RBI had reduced its holdings. In a post on X, PIB said: "A news report published by Bloomberg states that RBI may have sold gold amounting to approximately $12 billion. This claim is fake."
Citing RBI figures, the fact-check unit noted: "According to RBI, the share of gold in India's foreign exchange reserves rose from 13.92 per cent at end-September 2025 to 16.70 per cent on March 31, and further to 16.85 per cent as of May 22."
PIB further noted that the central bank continues to disclose its physical gold stock through its Monthly Bulletin and said the status of those holdings remains unchanged.
Bloomberg's Report Dismissed as Fake
The clarification came after a report based on an assessment by Bloomberg Economics suggested that the RBI may have sold a portion of its gold reserves during the two weeks ending May 22. According to a senior India economist at the agency, Abhishek Gupta, publicly available data appeared to indicate that the central bank sold gold worth roughly $12 billion while simultaneously adding around $7.5 billion to its foreign currency assets.
The assessment argued that the value of RBI's bullion holdings should ordinarily have risen because of higher import duties on gold. Gupta said the apparent decline in gold-related assets despite those conditions pointed to possible gold sales by the central bank.
The report linked the alleged move to concerns over rising crude oil prices, capital outflows and pressure on India's foreign exchange reserves stemming from instability in the Middle East and disruptions to shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz. It also suggested that policymakers may have preferred to hold more readily deployable foreign currency reserves as the current account deficit widened and pressure on the rupee increased.
Gold Reserves and Repatriation
As of the end of March 2026, the RBI held 880.52 metric tonnes of gold. The central bank's half-yearly foreign exchange report released in April showed that around 77 per cent of those reserves were stored within India, up from 66 per cent six months earlier, reflecting a broader trend of increasing gold repatriation.
The RBI has said most of its overseas gold holdings are maintained with the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements. The move towards holding a larger share of reserves domestically mirrors a wider shift among several emerging-market central banks following concerns over the freezing of Russian assets after the Ukraine conflict.
