MOSCOW - Russia produced 176.3 t of gold from January to July, down from 185.1 tonnes during the same period last year, the finance ministry said on Thursday.
Gold output in Russia, the world's third largest producer of the precious metal, has been rising steadily over the past decade as companies invest in new mines and expand existing ones amid strong prices.
The rare decline in Russia's output was caused by lower production of it from scrap, which fell to 16.4 t from 30.8 t, the ministry's data showed. It did not provide the reason for the decline.
Production of gold from mines, however, rose to 150.1 t from 143.4 t, while output of gold as a by-product of other metals' production fell by 1.1 t to 9.8 t, the ministry added.
The country also produced 514.4 t of silver during the first seven months of the year, down from 549.9 t produced over the same period last year.