Precious metals reserves in Russian banks have fallen by 20% in two months, and the Central Bank has restricted trading in foreign shares blocked by international depositories – these and other important news for Monday morning, May 30, in our daily review.

The stocks of precious metals in Russian banks decreased significantly in February-March: as of April 1, the balances amounted to 227.3 billion rubles – the minimum since August 2019, RBC wrote, citing statistics from the Bank of Russia. The volume of investments decreased by 20.2 billion rubles, or 17.2%, over the two months. In terms of gold, the decline is even more pronounced. According to RBC’s calculations, by April 1, banks held 43.8 tons of refined gold, which is 11.4 tons (20.7%) less than two months earlier. The main decline occurred in February – by 10.8 tons, while in March the reduction amounted to only 0.6 tons.

May 30, the Central Bank will limit trading on exchanges in foreign securities blocked by international depositories, the regulator said in a statement. The exception will be securities of foreign issuers, whose activities are mainly concentrated in Russia. The decision is aimed at protecting the rights and interests of investors and minimizing their risks, the Central Bank said.

An article by Leonid Fedun, co-owner and vice-president of LUKOIL, which he wrote especially for RBC as a PhD candidate, proposes to reduce oil production in Russia by 20-30% – from 10 million to 7-8 million barrels per day. “Why should Russia ensure the production of 10 million barrels of oil per day? If we can effectively consume and export 7-8 million without losses for the state budget, domestic consumption and ensuring imports,” Fedun wrote.

European Union leaders at a summit in Brussels on May 30-31 will consider the issue of confiscation of Russian assets in the EU jurisdiction. This was reported by a source of TASS. According to him, in some countries of the Union this procedure is impossible to implement due to the legislation of these states.

Head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell said that this afternoon it is planned to agree on a new package of sanctions against Russia. He is confident that the EU countries will also eventually manage to reach an agreement on the embargo on Russian oil.