World Gold Council https://goldbroker.com/news/authors/world-gold-council Following a historical high level of central bank gold buying, gold continues to be viewed favourably by central banks. Our 2023 survey revealed that 24% of central banks intend to increase their holding reserves in the next 12 months. Furthermore, central banks’ views towards the future role of the US dollar were more pessimistic than in previous surveys. By contrast, their views towards gold’s future role grew more optimistic, with 62% saying that gold will have a greater share of total reserves compared to 46% last year. Half of central banks surveyed believe the percentage of reserves in USD in 5 years will be between 40-50%, while just over a quarter believe it will remain unchanged. What proportion of total reserves (foreign exchange and gold) do you think will be denominated in US dollars 5 years from now? A majority of central banks expect a slight increase in the proportion of total reserves being denominated in gold over the next five years, with develo... Tue, 30 May 2023 05:04:52 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/gold-continues-be-viewed-favourably-by-central-banks-3104 The latest update to our central bank holdings data set – capturing data to end-May – is now available. It shows that in May, central banks reported adding a net 35t to global gold reserves. [1] This is the second consecutive month of net buying, having recently oscillated between monthly net purchases and sales (Chart 1). Chart 1: Central banks have added to global gold reserves for the second consecutive month* *Data to 31 May 2022. On Goldhub, see: Central bank holdings - Source: IMF IFS, respective central banks, World Gold Council Purchases were primarily concentrated among the same four banks that dominated buying in April. Turkey (13t), Uzbekistan (9t), Kazakhstan (6t) and India (4t) all added to their gold reserves again in May, accounting for most of the month’s buying. Qatar added 5t to its gold reserves in May, taking total gold reserves back to 56.7t, the same level as the start of 2022. Contrastingly, Germany was the only notable seller during the... Mon, 11 Jul 2022 08:48:59 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/central-banks-add-more-gold-their-reserves-in-may-2793 Central bank gold demand in Q1 more than doubled q-o-q, but was 29% lower y-o-y Our survey findings show that central banks highly value gold’s performance during time of crisis At a country-level, both sizeable purchases and sales were seen during the quarter. Global central bank gold reserves grew by a net 84t in Q1, 29% lower than in Q1 last year and driven primarily by a small number of sizeable transactions. During a turbulent quarter marked by geopolitical crises and surging inflation, central bank net demand for gold was somewhat muted, but nonetheless positive. This corresponds with the findings from our 2021 central bank survey: for the first time respondents highlighted gold’s performance during periods of crisis as the top reason to hold gold. Sources: Metals Focus, Refinitiv GFMS, World Gold Council; Disclaimer *Data to 31 March 2022. On Goldhub, see: Central bank holdings Activity in the sector was dominated by a limited number of... Tue, 10 May 2022 05:07:44 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/global-central-bank-gold-reserves-rose-84t-during-turbulent-q1-2737 Strong growth in global investment demand for gold in Q3 partly offset weakness elsewhere as COVID-19 remained in the driving seat. Demand for gold dropped to 892.3t in Q3 – its lowest quarterly total since Q3 2009 – as consumers and investors continued to battle the effects of the global pandemic. At 2,972.1t year-to-date (y-t-d) demand is 10% below the same period of 2019. While the pace slowed from H1, sustained inflows in Q3 demonstrated the motivation of investors globally to add to their holdings. Although jewellery demand improved from the Q2 record low, the combination of continued social restrictions, economic slowdown and a strong gold price proved onerous for many jewellery buyers: demand of 333t was 29% below an already relatively anaemic Q3 2019. Weakness caused by COVID-19 was compounded by record gold prices: Q3 demand fell 29% y-o-y to 333t. By contrast, bar and coin demand strengthened, gaining 49% y-o-y to 222.1t. Much of the growth... Mon, 02 Nov 2020 08:34:13 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/gold-demand-trends-q3-2020-bar-coin-investment-jumped-2015 Gold demand was 1,123t in Q2, up 8% y-o-y. H1 demand jumped to a three-year high of 2,181.7t, largely due to record-breaking central bank purchases. Central bank buying and healthy ETF inflows were the driving forces behind gold demand throughout the first half of 2019. Growth in H1 jewellery demand was largely the product of a more positive environment for Indian consumers. Shifts in bar and coin investment were very much price-related: as the gold price powered its way to multi-year highs, profit-taking kicked in and retail investment all but dried up. The technology sector reduced its usage of gold due to challenging global conditions, although the outlook is for this element of demand to establish something of a floor over coming quarters. Solid growth in both mine production and recycling fed into a 2% increase in total H1 gold supply. Central banks bought 224.4t of gold in Q2 2019. This took H1 buying to 374.1t – the largest net H1 increase in global gol... Thu, 01 Aug 2019 14:55:06 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/h1-gold-demand-boosted-three-year-high-record-central-bank-buying-1601 Gold is a highly liquid yet scarce asset, and it is no one’s liability. It is bought as a luxury good as much as an investment. As such, gold can play four fundamental roles in a portfolio: a source of long-term returns a diversifier that can mitigate losses in times of market stress a liquid asset with no credit risk that has outperformed fiat currencies a means to enhance overall portfolio performance. Our analysis shows that adding 2%, 5% or 10% in gold over the past decade to the average pension fund portfolio would have resulted in higher risk-adjusted returns. Why gold, why now Gold is becoming more mainstream. Since 2001, investment demand for gold worldwide has grown, on average, 15% per year. This has been driven in part by the advent of new ways to access the market, such as physical gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but also by the expansion of the middle class in Asia and a renewed focus on effective risk management following the 2008–2009... Wed, 06 Feb 2019 17:08:33 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/relevance-gold-strategic-asset-investment-portofolio-1481 Gold demand was 964.3t in Q3, just 6.2t higher y-o-y. Robust central bank buying and a 13% rise in consumer demand offset large ETF outflows. Bar and coin demand jumped 28% to 298.1t as retail investors took advantage of the lower gold price and sought protection against currency weakness and tumbling stock markets. Jewellery demand rose 6% in Q3 as lower prices caught consumers’ attention. A growing number of central bank buyers saw demand in this sector rise 22% y-o-y to 148.4t, the highest level of quarterly net purchases since 2015. Technology registered its eighth consecutive quarter of y-o-y growth, up 1%. Sharp outflows in gold-backed ETFs offset growth across much of the gold market. Strong central bank and consumer demand offset ETF outflows Q3 jewellery demand saw price-led y-o-y growth of 6%, to 535.7t. Price-conscious consumers took advantage of a declining gold price to boost Q3 demand. India, China and several South-E... Thu, 01 Nov 2018 16:33:03 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/gold-demand-trends-964-tonnes-q3-2018-6-tonnes-higher-yoy-1425 Here's a look at the 20 largest holders of gold on the planet according to the World Gold Council report in January 2014. 1. United States - 8,133.5 tonnes While the US permanently abandoned the gold standard in 1971, it has the largest holdings of any single country by a wide margin. The growth of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet can only be sustained without dire consequences if it is backed by hard assets like gold. While most of the gold is held at Fort Knox in Kentucky, gold is also held by the US Mints in Philadelphia and Denver and several other locations. Imagine if the "conspiracy" theorists are right and that Fort Knox and other repositories do not have gold in them. It is this gold, the massive U.S. GDP and America’s underlying wealth of natural resources that keep the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. 2. Germany - 3,387.1 tonnes Germany's central bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank in Frankfurt, is the manager of the cou... Thu, 20 Mar 2014 08:49:00 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/world-gold-reserves-top-20-holders-451