Central Banks Bought Net 44 Tonnes Of Gold

Gross purchases (60t) heavily outweighed gross sales (15t) as central bank demand maintained its momentum

Krishan Gopaul, Senior Analyst, EMEA World Gold Council

FinTech BizNews Service   

Mumbai, January 6, 2024: According to the latest updated data from Krishan Gopaul, Senior Analyst, EMEA World Gold Council: "Reported global central bank gold reserves, via the IMF and publicly available sources, rose by a net 44 tonnes (t) in November. Gross purchases (60t) heavily outweighed gross sales (15t) as central bank demand maintained its momentum.”

Central banks’ gold buying slowed in October but did nothing to alter the overall trend of robust buying that has captured the attention of gold investors. Reported global net purchases totalled 42 tonnes (t) during the month, 41% lower than September’s revised total of 72t, but still 23% above the January-September monthly average of 34t.

Change by country

Central bank purchases in November 2023 continued to be dominated by banks who have been regular buyers so far this year.

Major buyers were all from emerging markets. The Central Bank of Turkey added the most gold during the month (25t), followed by the National Bank of Poland and the People’s Bank of China.

Changes year-to-date

• The People’s Bank of China remains the largest gold purchaser in 2023.
• Emerging market banks have been the driving force on both the purchases and sales side.
• The Monetary Authority of Singapore continues to be the sole developed market bank adding gold to its reserves (the ECB addition was related to Croatia joining the eurozone in January).

Gold among top 2023 performers

Gold finished the year on a high, literally and metaphorically, as the LBMA Gold Price PM reached a new historical record of US$2,078.40/oz on 28 December – the final afternoon auction of 2023, according to Juan Carlos Artigas, Global Head of Research World Gold Council. 

Gold rose 14.6% on the year, defying expectations amid a high interest rate environment and outpacing commodities, bonds and emerging market stocks.

Gold’s positive performance was linked to a combination of factors: 

• Strong central bank demand
• Robust retail demand in key markets
• And increased geopolitical risk, especially in the last part of the year.  

Juan Carlos adds: “Investors often ask us if the gold price experiences any seasonal effects. The short answer is that gold tends to do well, on average, in both January and late summer. Reasons behind these effects can be linked to portfolio rebalancing, bond performance and seasonal gold demand.”