The U.S., U.K., Japan and Canada will ban new imports of Russian gold as part of efforts to respond to the invasion of Ukraine, the British government said on Sunday, signaling potentially tighter supplies of bullion.
The ban by four of the G7 countries will begin soon and apply to newly mined and refined gold, the statement said ahead of a meeting of G7 leaders in Germany, but it is not clear if the three other G7 nations are on board, with European Council President Charles Michel saying the issue would need to be handled carefully and discussed further.
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Russia last year produced 333.4 metric tons, the second largest gold mining country in the world after, and accounted for 11% of the global total.
“The measures we have announced today will directly hit Russian oligarchs and strike at the heart of Putin’s war machine,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
Gold prices fell last week, weighed by looming interest rate hikes.
