Countries with Most and Least Gold, Cash Reserves

The coronavirus pandemic, the climate crisis and banking turbulence are only a few of the crises affecting countries around the globe. In an effort to keep their economies afloat and continue importing needed goods, nations have depended on their foreign reserves.

At the start of the pandemic, governments used their gold and cash reserves to stay afloat, with countries such as Turkey recording a significant decline in gross foreign-currency reserves. Governments of nations with more reserves, such as the United States, Switzerland and Japan, have a larger safety net in the event of a crisis. Data from the IMF and World Bank shows that of all the countries, China has the largest cash and gold reserves, valued at roughly $3.4 trillion.

This isn’t the case for countries such as Samoa and Burundi, which have smaller cash and gold reserves.  The country with the least amount of reserves is Dominica, whose reserves are valued at roughly $190 million. And South Sudan, which has faced years of conflict and corruption, has run out of foreign exchange reserves. Island-states and other impoverished nations are disproportionately impacted by health emergencies and climate change, with little financial ability on how to address these issues.

While some nations are currently not in particularly dire situations at the moment, this may change in the event of another crisis. For example, Bolivia barely has sufficient reserves to cover three months’ worth of imports, which has led the country’s central bank to start selling U.S. dollars at its offices as well as through Banco Union to the public, in an attempt to bring its exchange rate up.

Other countries, such as Pakistan, have seen their reserves drop to new lows as a result of the pandemic. As of January 2023, its central bank forex reserves stood at about $11 billion, its lowest level since 2014. The nation’s reserves have also taken a hit because of a weakened rupee, the rising inflation and a stewing political crisis. This is in addition to the disastrous floods in 2022, which affected 33 million individuals, killed more than 1,700 individuals and resulted in losses of more than $30 billion.

Economic catastrophes such as unstable food systems have also affected nations, including Sri Lanka. The country’s goal to become the first 100% organic producer of food has led to an economic crisis worsened by inflation and hoarding. Lebanon, which is in the midst of a financial crisis, hasn’t been spared either. The country resorted to subsidizing wheat, fuel and medicine.

As these struggling countries start registering an improvement in their economies, they may resume buying gold from extraction companies such as Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX: ELO) (OTCQX: ELRRF) in order to shore up their reserves.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX: ELO) (OTCQX: ELRRF) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/ELRRF

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