(Kitco News) Russia is in talks with the Shanghai Gold Exchange to get access to precious metals trading, according to a Russian finance ministry official.
There are ongoing discussions between two Russian gold refineries, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Industry and Trade Ministry, and the Shanghai Gold Exchange, said Yulia Goncharenko, who is the director of regulation of the precious metals and precious stones sector at the Finance Ministry.
"We tried to hold negotiations, including to get on the Shanghai exchange with our refining enterprises, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, through our colleagues from the Industry and Trade Ministry," Interfax quoted Goncharenko as saying Wednesday. "And essentially, this process is underway and concluding so that two of our refining enterprises can get on, trade on the Shanghai exchange," Goncharenko said.
The comments were made at the Federation Council's meeting focused on gold market regulation.
Several Russian banks are already members of the Shanghai Gold Exchange, including the country's largest lender Sberbank, VTB, and Otkritie. The National Clearing Center (NCC) and the Moscow Exchange are also members.
Earlier in the week, Russian central bank deputy governor Aleksey Zabotkin commented that Russia shouldn't buy more of the locally-produced gold at the moment since that increases the nation's money supply.
"In terms of adding gold to Russia's reserves, it is not advisable at the moment because it will push the growth of the money supply," Interfax quoted Zabotkin as saying Tuesday. "The government can also consider support of the sector within the framework of industrial policy implementation, but the target support of economic sectors is not part of the central bank's mandate."
The Russian official's comment was in response to a question about whether the central bank could support the country's gold mining industry by buying up all the unsold precious metal.
Earlier this year, countries including the EU, U.S., UK, Canada, Switzerland, and Japan banned imports of Russian gold in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) also suspended its accreditation of Russian precious metals refiners, barring them from selling new products in London. The suspension was made official on March 7 in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Russia's Finance Ministry said back in August that the action paralyzed Russia's precious metals activities and was a critical negative factor. This contradicted what many analysts have dubbed a largely symbolic move by the LBMA.
