Baku: The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) has generated non-budgetary income totaling USD 11 billion from investments in gold since 2012, said Israfil Mammadov, Executive Director of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ), in an interview with APA-Economics.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, Mammadov highlighted that in recent years, the increase in gold reserves has been a global trend. This trend is largely due to intensified external shocks, increased volatility in financial markets, geopolitical risks, and instability in currency markets. Gold is considered a strategic asset that remains independent of issuers, is relatively free from interest rate and counterparty risks, and helps preserve value during financial stress. By the end of the third quarter of 2025, SOFAZ's gold assets amounted to 185 tons, valued at USD 23 billion, generating non-budgetary revenue of USD 11 billion since 2012.

Mammadov noted that while changes in the market price of gold affect the value of SOFAZ's overall assets, these changes are not calculated as income for a separate asset class in the investment portfolio's profitability. Instead, they are viewed as changes in reserve value due to exchange rate fluctuations, a practice common among institutional investors.

Regarding future expectations for gold prices, Mammadov identified several key influencing factors: the dynamics of real interest rates, the value of the US dollar, monetary policies, and potential geopolitical tensions, which currently exert the greatest impact on gold prices.