Gold showed the strongest increase in value since the beginning of the year

According to the report of Spot, the Central Bank of Uzbekistan on Monday, August 14, updated the prices of measured gold bars and commemorative coins.

The cost of one gram of gold amounted to 766.96 thousand soums, having increased by 3.3% over the weekend. So, a 5-gram bar is now sold for 3,835,000 soums, or 124,000 soums more than on Friday.

The last time jumps of this magnitude were observed last March, when the devaluation of the Russian ruble and the Turkish lira accelerated the depreciation of the sum. So, on March 9, 2022, the price of the precious metal rose by almost 5% — for a 5-gram bar, this meant 176,000 soums.

Since the beginning of the year, gold has updated its price record several times in March. In March, the cost of the smallest ingot for the first time crossed the mark of 3.8 million soums, and in early May it reached 3.9 million soums. However, since the end of May, the precious metal has fallen somewhat.

The Central Bank began selling commemorative gold coins to the public in 2018, and two years later, gold bars joined them. Individual buyers were allowed to export them from Uzbekistan, subject to the conditions.

These steps were explained by the desire to reduce the dependence of the Uzbek economy on foreign currency. In addition, according to experts, access to gold will expand investment opportunities and help secure savings.

As of September 2021 (latest publicly available data), Uzbeks bought 5,100 bars and 2,500 coins. The total volume of gold in them amounted to 168.6 kg.