Higher gold prices brought substantial gains to Azerbaijan’s State Oil Fund (SOFAZ), Finance Minister Sahil Babayev said.
Report informs that Babayev was speaking during discussions on the 2027 budget package at today’s meeting of Milli Majlis Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship.
He emphasized that gold prices could not be predicted with complete accuracy.
“No one could have predicted two years ago that gold would reach $5,500 an ounce, then fall to $3,800 today after reaching that level earlier this year. Forecasts are made for certain periods, and we use them when they prove successful. In this regard, a very wise decision was made. After gold exceeded $5,000 an ounce, SOFAZ began selling some of its holdings. As a result, the fund secured substantial profits,” Babayev said.
The minister noted that the fund had realized its gains on gold.
“If we had been certain that gold would fall below $3,800, we might have sold the remaining holdings as well. But we were not certain, because we know that another geopolitical conflict in six months or a year could push gold prices higher again,” he added.