Ed Note: We are proud to unveil our new mining page, an entire space dedicated to up-to-the-minute news, with exclusive industry interviews and all the relevant information you need, rounded in up in one spot. Who is merging? Who is Buying? Who is Digging? We got you covered!

(Kitco News) - Russia’s gold reserves topped the $100 billion mark in July as gold prices rose and the country’s central bank continued to buy the yellow metal, according to the bank’s latest press release.

The Russian central bank bought another 597,000 ounces or 18.67 tonnes of gold in June, which put the total gold holdings at 2,208 tonnes as of July 1 ?r $100.3 billion, the Russian central bank said in the latest data release.

At the time of writing, August Comex gold futures were trading at $1,417.10, down 0.69% on the day.

Moscow has been actively buying up gold this year, adding more than 96 tonnes since the beginning of 2019.

Russia bought 200,000 in May, 550,000 ounces in April, 600,000 ounces in March, one million ounces in February, and 200,000 ounces in January.

During the last decade, Russia’s gold reserves have gone from 2% to 19% as of the end of 2018 Q4, according to the World Gold Council’s data.

The World Gold Council (WGC) has been pointing to an overarching trend towards gold, noting that central banks around the world purchased a total of 651.5 tonnes of gold last year — the largest amount since 1971.

“What is more interesting to understand in the case of Russia … is not just these large numbers, but the trend. Emerging market central banks have been buying gold fairly consistently since 2010 ... because central banks are looking to diversify their reserves, they are looking for safety and gold provides that to them,” World Gold Council director of investment research Juan Carlos Artigas told Kitco News at the beginning of April.

This year is no different from the last, with central banks, which have been heavy gold buyers since last year, continuing to add the precious metal to their reserves. Global gold reserves continue to climb, tracking the 8% gain in June, the biggest monthly surge in three years as trade and economic tensions rise,” said commodities brokerage SP Angel.

Analysts cited data on the International Monetary Fund website showing that Kazakhstan raised gold holdings to 12.07 million ounces last month from 11.925 million in May. Turkey increased reserves to 16.3 million ounces last month from 16.03 million in May. Meanwhile, the Kyrgyz Republic’s holdings rose to a record 0.42 million ounces in June, with SP Angel noting that the data go back to 1995.