Translating into Русский. The English version is shown until it is ready.
Hong Kong imports of Russian gold hit record as flows shift to China
Коротко
Hong Kong's imports of Russian gold reached a record 112.7 tonnes from January to July 2026, CNBC reported, exceeding the whole of the previous year and many times the 2021 level. Russian gold accounted for almost 15% of Hong Kong's non-monetary gold imports in the first seven months, up from 0.6% in 2021. Vedomosti, citing RIA Novosti and Hong Kong statistics, put January–August shipments at 138.9 tonnes, 2.9 times the same period of 2025.
Читать полностью 2 мин чтения
Hong Kong imported 112.7 tonnes of Russian gold between January and July 2026, CNBC reported, citing research by the investment company BullionVault based on data from the Hong Kong census and statistics department. That volume exceeds the 92.1 tonnes imported in all of the previous year and is many times the 3.3 tonnes recorded in 2021. Russian gold accounted for almost 15% of Hong Kong's non-monetary gold imports in the first seven months of this year, against 0.6% in 2021. [ 1 , 4 ]
Vedomosti, citing RIA Novosti and Hong Kong statistics, reported a longer period and a larger total: January–August shipments of 138.9 tonnes, 2.9 times the same period of 2025, worth HK$154.83bn ($19.75bn), a fourfold increase in value. In August alone Hong Kong imported 26.2 tonnes of Russian gold, 2.5 times the August 2025 figure and 9% more than in July 2026, worth HK$27.68bn ($3.53bn). The two volume figures cover different periods and the documents do not reconcile them into a single series. RIA Novosti reported only that Russia had almost tripled gold exports to Hong Kong. [ 2 , 3 ]
According to Kommersant's account of the CNBC report, Russian gold mining was oriented toward Britain before the conflict in Ukraine, with exports to Britain equal to about two-thirds of mine output between 2019 and 2021. After the US ban in June 2022 and the EU ban in August 2022, Russian gold sought buyers outside its former European direction. Much of it now goes to mainland China, which has not imposed sanctions on Russian gold and offers direct access to the world's largest consumer market, analysts told CNBC. Hong Kong serves as a channel to the mainland, where Good Delivery status matters less to buyers than in Europe and the United States, and deliveries to China in 2025 were mostly in the form of bars. [ 4 ]
Restrictions on recognizing Russian bars do not make them unsellable: re-refining costs 1–2% of the metal's value, after which it loses its previous origin and receives the stamp of a Good Delivery refinery, changing the bar's external status while adding costs to its sale, Kommersant reported. [ 4 ]
On the demand side, China's official gold reserves grew by more than 40 tonnes in the first half of 2026, more than double the volume bought a year earlier, according to S&P Global. On the supply side, Rosstat data cited by Vedomosti show Russian production of unrefined and semi-refined gold rising 4.2% year on year in the first half of 2026, with gold-bearing concentrates up 6.5%. Russia also increased exports of other precious metals to China in January–July 2026, raising palladium shipments 2.1 times to 10.8 tonnes and platinum 3.8 times to 3 tonnes, Vedomosti reported. [ 3 , 4 ]
Почему это важно
The figures indicate that Russian gold, cut off from its former European and British buyers after US and EU restrictions in 2022, is moving through Hong Kong toward mainland China, which has not sanctioned the metal. That matters for how sanctions reshape global bullion trade routes and refinery practices.
Ключевые факты
- Hong Kong imported 112.7 tonnes of Russian gold from January to July 2026, more than the 92.1 tonnes for all of the previous year and far above 3.3 tonnes in 2021, CNBC reported citing BullionVault. [ 4 ]
- Russian gold accounted for almost 15% of Hong Kong's non-monetary gold imports in the first seven months of 2026, compared with 0.6% in 2021. [ 1 , 4 ]
- Russia increased physical gold supplies to Hong Kong 2.9 times in January–August 2026 versus a year earlier, to 138.9 tonnes, with a value of HK$154.83bn ($19.75bn), up fourfold. [ 2 , 3 ]
- In August 2026 Hong Kong imported 26.2 tonnes of gold from Russia, 2.5 times the August 2025 level and 9% more than in July 2026, worth HK$27.68bn ($3.53bn). [ 3 ]
- Russian production of unrefined and semi-refined gold rose 4.2% year on year in the first half of 2026 and gold-bearing concentrates rose 6.5%, according to Rosstat data cited by Vedomosti. [ 3 ]
- Russia also increased palladium exports to China 2.1 times and platinum exports 3.8 times in January–July 2026, to 10.8 tonnes and 3 tonnes respectively. [ 3 ]
- China's official gold reserves rose by more than 40 tonnes in the first half of 2026, more than double the purchases a year earlier, according to S&P Global cited by CNBC. [ 4 ]
Подтверждено несколькими источниками
- Russian gold made up almost 15% of Hong Kong's non-monetary gold imports in the first seven months of 2026, up from 0.6% in 2021. [ 1 , 4 ]
- Russia roughly tripled its physical gold shipments to Hong Kong in 2026 compared with a year earlier. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The import figures come from the Hong Kong census and statistics department, reported by CNBC. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Пока неясно
- The two volume figures are for different periods: 112.7 tonnes for January–July and 138.9 tonnes for January–August. The documents do not give a single consistent series, so the monthly step implied by the two figures cannot be checked across the same documents.
- How long the rise in Russian gold shipments to Hong Kong will continue. No document provides data or forecasts beyond August 2026.
- The account of Russian gold mining having been oriented to Britain before the conflict in Ukraine, with exports there equal to about two-thirds of mine output in 2019–2021, and of the US ban in June 2022 and the EU ban in August 2022. This background appears in only one document, Kommersant's account of the CNBC report.
Что пишут местные СМИ
Хронология, местное время
- RBC reports, citing CNBC, that Russian gold accounted for almost 15% of Hong Kong's non-monetary gold imports in the first seven months of 2026, up from 0.6% in 2021. [ 1 ]
- RIA Novosti reports that Russia almost tripled gold exports to Hong Kong. [ 2 ]
- Vedomosti, citing RIA Novosti and Hong Kong statistics, reports January–August shipments of 138.9 tonnes worth $19.75bn. [ 3 ]
- Kommersant reports, citing CNBC and BullionVault, that Hong Kong imported 112.7 tonnes of Russian gold from January to July, above the 92.1 tonnes for all of the previous year. [ 4 ]