The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)  Thursday rejected reports claiming it had sold a significant portion of its gold reserves to protect the country's foreign exchange holdings amid ongoing tensions in West Asia. 

In a statement, the central bank said its physical gold holdings remain unchanged at 880.52 tonnes and dismissed media reports suggesting it had sold gold worth approximately US$12 billion.

"The RBI emphatically states that these reports are incorrect," the central bank said, urging the public to rely on official information released periodically by the institution.

The clarification follows reports that alleged the RBI had offloaded gold reserves to cushion the impact of geopolitical instability in West Asia on India's foreign exchange reserves.

India's Press Information Bureau (PIB) also issued a fact-check report disputing the claims and reinforcing the RBI's position.

According to RBI data, gold's share of India's foreign exchange reserves has continued to rise despite the speculation. The proportion of gold in the country's reserve assets increased from 13.92 per cent at the end of September 2025 to 16.70 per cent as of March 31, . By May 2026, that figure had edged up further to 16.85 per cent.