Fitch: SOFAZ among largest gold buyers in 2024–2026

The gold reserves of Azerbaijan's State Oil Fund (SOFAZ) are a key factor in strengthening the country's sovereign external financial buffers, according to Fitch Ratings, cited by Report.

SOFAZ's investment portfolio reached $73.5 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2026, equivalent to around 93.2% of Azerbaijan's projected annual GDP.

Gold is the largest component of SOFAZ's portfolio, accounting for 36% of the fund's total assets. At the end of 2025, gold represented 32.2% of Azerbaijan's sovereign external assets.

Fitch analysts noted that rising gold prices directly contributed to a $19.4 billion increase in SOFAZ's assets between 2023 and the first quarter of 2026. Around 26% of this growth resulted from an increase in the volume of gold reserves.

Between 2024 and June 2026, SOFAZ purchased a total of 76 tonnes of gold, making it one of the world's largest institutional buyers after the central banks of Poland, with 274 tonnes, China, with 111 tonnes, and India, with 77 tonnes.

"The positive effect of high gold prices was partly offset by portfolio management operations, notably cumulative sales of part of the gold reserves in January-April 2026 for rebalancing purposes," Fitch said in its report.

Unlike some other countries in the region, including Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, gold accounts for only a negligible share of Azerbaijan's commodity exports, at 0.2% in 2025. Fitch noted that Azerbaijan continues to maintain a traditional current account surplus that is not dependent on precious metals exports.

Fitch also said Azerbaijan stores all or most of its gold reserves domestically. According to the agency, physical storage within the country reduces political and legal risks compared with storage in foreign hubs such as the Bank of England, while the liquidity of Azerbaijan's gold is considered comparable to that of assets held abroad.

Fitch maintains Azerbaijan's sovereign rating at BBB- with a Stable Outlook.

The agency described Azerbaijan's net external creditor position and foreign-currency liquidity as "exceptionally strong." The country's credit rating already incorporates a one-notch qualitative uplift in the external finance category, reflecting SOFAZ's substantial reserves.

Although higher gold prices have an obvious positive impact on SOFAZ's asset holdings and support the sovereign rating, they are unlikely on their own to result in an immediate further upgrade of Azerbaijan's credit rating, Fitch Ratings concluded.