After the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war, Western countries adopted a series of severe sanctions against Russia in an attempt to hit Russia's currency and economy. However, they did not achieve the expected results. Russia stabilized the currency exchange rate through variou

After the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, Western countries adopted a series of severe sanctions against Russia in an attempt to crack down on Russia's currency and economy. However, they did not achieve the expected results. Russia stabilized the currency exchange rate through various countermeasures. Although The economy will definitely be affected to a certain extent, but it has not collapsed. Instead, as inflation rates in major Western countries continue to rise and currencies continue to depreciate against the US dollar, the Russian ruble has become one of the strongest currencies this year.

However, Western countries have not given up. US President Biden announced sanctions on Russian gold. And at the G7 summit in Germany, these seven countries made another incredible decision: they will stop importing gold produced in Russia.

Their reasons are twofold. First, precious metals represented by gold are Russia's second largest export product after energy. Stopping the import of gold will further hit the Russian economy; second, it is a direct fuse. Seven Western countries claim Last Sunday, Russia launched a series of missiles towards the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

[The G7 summit is held in Germany]

So, will Western countries’ ban on the import of Russian gold have any effect?

A simple analysis will tell you that it won’t.

First of all, Russian President Putin has instructed the Russian Central Bank to buy gold in large quantities since March 2022. And until June, payment is priced at 5000 rubles per gram. Analysts say this is the beginning of Putin's intention to establish a gold standard ruble.

Secondly, let’s take a look at the world’s major gold producers and importers. In 2019, Russia replaced Australia as the world's second largest gold producer on the list of the world's major gold producers, with a production of about 330 tons. Russia produces the vast majority of Europe's gold, and the country's gold production has been growing steadily since 2010. China ranks first, with gold production of around 370 tons. So, who are the biggest buyers of Russian gold? Of course, it is the Russian government, whose purchases account for about two-thirds of the country's gold production. The other third flows into the Russian private consumer market and is used in some industries, and only a small part is exported.

[Top 10 gold producing countries in the world in 2019]

So, which countries are importing gold? According to statistics, the top ten importing countries of gold in the world in 2021 are:

1.Switzerland: Imported gold worth US$92.3 billion (accounting for 23.4% of global gold trade volume)

2. India: Imported gold worth US$55.8 billion (accounting for global gold trade) 14.1% of trade volume)

3. Britain: Imported gold worth US$53.7 billion (accounting for 13.6% of global gold trade volume)

4. China: Imported gold worth US$43.7 billion (accounting for 11.6% of global gold trade volume)

5. Hong Kong, China : The value of imported gold is US$29.1 billion (accounting for 7.4% of global gold trade volume)

6. Singapore : The value of imported gold is US$14.5 billion (accounting for 3.7% of global gold trade volume)

7. The United States: The value of imported gold is US$13.9 billion ( Accounting for 3.5% of global gold trade volume)

8. Germany: Imported gold worth US$11 billion (accounting for 2.8% of global gold trade volume)

9. United Arab Emirates: Imported gold worth US$10.6 billion (accounting for 2.7% of global gold trade volume)

10 .Thailand: Imported gold worth US$8.4 billion (accounting for 2.1% of global gold trade volume)

It can be seen that among the seven Western countries, only the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany import more gold. The total import volume from mainland China and Hong Kong is almost the same as that from Britain and the United States.

We all know that gold in the world currently has three main uses. The biggest use is as a hard currency for reserves. Therefore, countries or regions where trade and finance account for the main components of the economy must use a large amount of gold as reserves, such as Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong. The second use is private consumption, and India is a typical representative. The third use is industrial use.

[Swiss Bank’s Gold Reserves]

Looking at it this way, the measures taken by the seven Western countries to ban the import of Russian gold seem ridiculous:

1. If Russian gold exports are blocked, is this helping the Russian Central Bank to increase its gold reserves? In today's turbulent international economic situation, is this a blow to Russia or a help to Russia?

2. If the seven Western countries don’t buy it, other countries will buy it. There is never a shortage of buyers for hard currency. India and China will never stop buying Russian gold. If the measures taken by Western countries can reduce the price of Russian gold, that will be the best for China and India.

3. The biggest blow to Russia when the West stops importing Russian gold is that it lacks a channel to obtain foreign exchange reserves. But you must know that Russia has had a surplus in international trade in the past two decades. In 2021, Russia's foreign trade surplus increased by 0.9 times, reaching 197.3 billion U.S. dollars. This year, with the rise in international oil prices, the surplus will likely exceed 200 billion U.S. dollars. Even if Russia's gold exports are affected by the seven Western countries, it will only affect tens of billions of dollars at most and will not have any impact on Russia's overall foreign trade. If Russia takes some measures, such as paying with gold when importing foreign products, the impact can be reduced to zero.

Therefore, the ban on the import of Russian gold by the seven Western countries will not have any impact at all. This measure reflects that Western countries have reached the end of their tether to Russia.