Key Highlights
- RBI rejects reports of selling $12 billion worth of gold.
- India’s gold reserves remain unchanged at 880.52 metric tonnes.
- PIB Fact Check labels gold sale reports as fake.
- Gold’s share in forex reserves increased to 16.85% as of May 22, 2026.
- Gold holdings rose slightly from 879.58 tonnes in FY25 to 880.52 tonnes in FY26.
- Value of RBI’s gold assets jumped 63.6% year-on-year.
- Forex reserves declined to $681.38 billion amid West Asia tensions.
- RBI advises citizens to rely only on official information.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has officially dismissed media reports claiming that it sold approximately $12 billion worth of gold to protect India’s foreign exchange reserves amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.
In a clarification issued on June 4, the RBI stated that the reports are incorrect and confirmed that India’s physical gold holdings remain unchanged at 880.52 metric tonnes.
The clarification comes after reports suggested that the central bank had offloaded gold reserves to manage pressure on the rupee and forex reserves. RBI emphasized that the public should rely only on information published through its official channels.
Supporting RBI’s statement, PIB Fact Check also labeled the claim as fake, highlighting that gold’s share in India’s foreign exchange reserves has actually increased from 13.92% in September 2025 to 16.85% as of May 22, 2026.
According to RBI’s Annual Report, India’s total gold holdings stood at 880.52 metric tonnes as of March 31, 2026, compared to 879.58 metric tonnes a year earlier, reflecting a slight increase rather than a reduction.
Of the total gold reserves:
- 312.32 tonnes are held under the RBI’s Issue Department.
- 568.20 tonnes are held under the Banking Department.
The value of gold held by the Banking Department surged by 63.6%, rising from ₹4.31 lakh crore in March 2025 to ₹7.06 lakh crore in March 2026, primarily due to higher global gold prices and rupee depreciation against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, India’s foreign exchange reserves have faced pressure in recent months due to the West Asia conflict, rising crude oil prices, and capital outflows. Forex reserves declined to $681.38 billion for the week ending May 22, 2026, from the record high of $728.49 billion reached in February 2026.
The RBI reiterated that while it actively uses foreign exchange reserves to manage excessive volatility in the rupee, there has been no sale of physical gold reserves.
