Uzbekistan’s Reserves Fall $2.96 Billion in October as Gold Price Drops

Uzbekistan’s international reserves shrank by $2.96 billion, or 4.5 percent, during October, falling to $63.63 billion by 1 November, the Central Bank reported. The decline was driven almost entirely by a sharp drop in the gold price rather than any drawdown of physical holdings — a distinction that matters because gold now accounts for more than nine-tenths of the country’s entire reserve buffer.

The troy-ounce price of gold fell from $4,188.75 at the start of October to $3,981.10 by month’s end, a drop of $207.65, or nearly 5 percent. The Central Bank calculated that this valuation effect alone stripped roughly $3 billion from the reserve total. The monetary value of the gold stock fell by $2.04 billion — from $60.09 billion to $58.04 billion — a smaller figure than the pure price effect because Uzbekistan was simultaneously buying more metal.

A Record Gold Stockpile, Shrinking in Dollar Terms

The country added approximately 236,000 troy ounces, or about 7.3 tonnes, to its physical gold holdings during October, bringing the total to 14.58 million troy ounces — roughly 453.5 tonnes. That is the largest gold stockpile recorded in Uzbekistan’s reserve statistics since the series began in 2013, surpassing the previous record of around 446 tonnes set on 1 October. The accumulation pace has been consistent: the reserve grew by approximately 7.3 tonnes in September and 8 tonnes in August.

The currency assets portion of the reserves fell far more steeply in percentage terms than the gold component, dropping 15.5 percent from $5.93 billion to $5.01 billion over the month. As a result, gold’s share of total reserves rose from 90.2 percent to 91.2 percent — a concentration that amplifies the reserve headline’s sensitivity to commodity-price swings in either direction.

Two Consecutive Months of Decline

October’s contraction follows an even larger fall in September, when reserves dropped $5.55 billion — from $72.13 billion to $66.59 billion. Taken together, the two months erased $8.51 billion, or 11.8 percent of the reserve total that stood at the start of September. The last time reserves were lower than the current $63.63 billion was December 2025, when they stood at $61.23 billion.

The back-to-back declines reflect the volatility inherent in a reserve portfolio so heavily weighted toward a single commodity. When gold prices were rising, Uzbekistan’s headline reserve figure climbed rapidly; the same mechanism now works in reverse. The Central Bank’s continued physical accumulation of gold — adding tonnes even as the dollar value falls — suggests the strategy of building physical holdings remains intact regardless of short-term price movements.