Russia to Launch Domestic Gold Market at SPIMEX, Challenging London Benchmark

Authored by GoldFix, ZH Edit 

St. Petersburg, Russia – Russia, the world’s second-largest gold producer, will begin trading physical gold on the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX) by year-end, in a strategic move to establish domestic price benchmarks and reduce reliance on the London’s LBMA Bullion benchmark.

SPIMEX Managing Director Igor Chernyshev confirmed the government’s objective: “In the gold market, our goal is to ensure the formation of national price indicators that are independent of international benchmarks, based on the balance of supply and demand in the Russian market.”

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The initial launch will include spot trading of two types of gold bars: 1-kilogram and 12-kilogram (standard bank) bars. Eligible participants include miners, refiners, banks, and industrial users, such as jewelry manufacturers and catalyst producers.

This shift is part of a broader state-led strategy to assert economic sovereignty. The launch of domestic gold trading follows Moscow’s 2023 creation of the Institute of Oil & Gas Initiatives, a parallel to the U.S.-based American Petroleum Institute. In both cases, Russia is challenging Western control over pricing infrastructure for critical commodities.

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The St. Petersburg gold venue will complement the Moscow Exchange’s existing physical bullion platform and may eventually become a conduit for BRICS nations seeking non-Western precious metals markets. The broader context includes a steady trend among emerging economies, especially within the Eurasian Economic Union and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, to seek alternatives to the dollar-dominated financial system.

The European Central Bank recently noted that gold has surpassed the euro as the second-most traded financial commodity after the U.S. dollar—a development that underscores the global revaluation of gold’s monetary role.

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