Russia Proposes Its Own International Standard For Precious Metals

EDITOR'S NOTE: What’s playing out in the geopolitical monetary scene is not so much a conflict between two currency regimes but a clash between monetary values. In the west, the new BRICS currency system is the “object” of contention and challenge. For the BRICS countries and their allies, the “center of gravity” is situated not in the currency itself, holding mere representational value, but in the object that gives it value: gold. Having been rejected by the LBMA, Russia is now creating its own global gold standard, the Moscow World Standard. Russia’s standard in precious metals shows a fundamental schism in the way the world views money. While most western nations see gold as providing material support for the currency, Russia and its Eurasian allies see the currency as a material extension of gold. There’s a huge difference between the two perceptions. In the end, that is, if you follow history (and assuming history has no better route than repeating itself), the country that holds and utilizes gold most effectively wins.

Russia is proposing its own international standard for precious metals after getting banned by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). And it could have a fixed price in national currencies.

The country’s Finance Ministry said it is “critical” to create the new Moscow World Standard (MWS) to “normalize the functioning of the precious metals industry” and have an alternative to the LBMA.

“The basis of this new structure will be a new, specialized international precious metals brokerage headquartered in Moscow, which will rely on the MWS,” the Finance Ministry said in a letter quoted by Russian media.

Russia is also proposing to fix prices of precious metals in the national currencies of key member countries or via a new monetary unit — such as the new BRICS currency proposed by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

The price-fixing committee would include central banks and other large banks from the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Member states of the EEU are Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia.

The idea would be to make membership attractive to big gold players like China, India, Venezuela, Peru, and other South American countries.

According to the letter published by the Finance Ministry, the creation of such an organization would quickly destroy the monopoly of the LBMA and ensure the stable development of the precious metals industry in Russia and around the world.

It was also clarified that the proposal for the new standard did not originate from the Finance Ministry but was received from market participants.

According to the Finance Ministry, Russia was the second highest gold producer by volume in 2021, with gold output rising by 9% to 343 tons. Russia is also one of the three largest producers of platinum, palladium and rhodium. The precious metals industry in Russia accounts for around $25 billion a year.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the LBMA suspended its accreditation of Russian precious metals refiners, barring them from selling new products in London. The suspension was made official on March 7.

The Finance Ministry said that the action paralyzed Russia’s precious metals activities and was a critical negative factor.

This contradicts what many analysts have dubbed a largely symbolic move by the LBMA.