Uzbekistan sold $9.8 billion worth of gold in January-September, recording an 70.5% increase in value to the same period last year ($5.8 billion), the National Statistics Committee said in a report.
August sales in already surpassed the 2023 all-time high ($8.15 billion). The amount also surpasses the 2024 figure ($7.48 billion).
In September alone, gold exports totaled $1.48 billion. Exports stood at $1.73 billion in February, $1.84 billion in March, $1.91 billion in April, $1.01 billion in May, $1.09 billion in July, and $836 million in August.
Gold’s ratio in all exports reached 37.1% of (in January-September 2024, its ratio was 28.9%).
Meanwhile, the market is seeing a significant price correction. According to trading data on the New York Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) on October 21, December gold futures fell 4.2% to $4,176.4 per ounce (even though they had broken a record high of $4,400 earlier in the week). At the low, prices fell to $4,093 (-6.12%). This was the sharpest withing-day drop in gold prices in 12 years.
By the close, contracts were trading near $4,145 per ounce.
Demand for gold as safe-haven assets has weakened somewhat amid expectations for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, Bloomberg reported. The meeting is expected to focus on resolving differences over trade. The end of India's seasonal buying spree is also putting pressure on prices. Uzbekistan's international reserves rose to $55 billion by the end of September, the highest level since records began. The increase was driven primarily by the rise in gold prices, which account for over 80% of the country's total reserves. Since the beginning of the year, reserves have grown by 33.5%, or $13.8 billion.
The Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Plant, the world's fourth-largest gold producer, produced nearly 48 tonnes of gold in the first year-half (up 1.4% year-on-year). Net profit increased by 72% to a record $1.5 billion. Revenue reached $4.7 billion (up 40.9%).
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev previously announced a significant increase in gold and uranium production due to the introduction of new approaches to geological exploration. According to him, while gold production in 2016 was 86 tonnes, this year's figure is expected to reach 118 tonnes.
