Central Bank Gold Purchases Recouped in First Six Months

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The gold purchases by central banks and other institutions recouped during the initial half-yearly period in 2021, said Gold Demand Trends Q2 2021 report published by the World Gold Council (WGC).

The central banks reported third consecutive quarter of net buying in Q2. The purchases totalled 199.9 tonnes during the quartet, recording the highest level of quarterly purchases since Q2 2019. The purchases skyrocketed by 214%, compared with 63.7 tonnes purchased in the same quarter a year before. The net buying totalled 333.2 tonnes in H1 this year, significantly higher by 63% from H1 last year.

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The largest gold purchaser in H1 was Thailand. The country added 90.2 tonnes to its gold reserves. The gold holdings by Central Bank of Thailand stood at 244.2 tonnes, representing 6% of the country’s total reserves. Turkey added 13.5 tonnes, thus boosting its official gold holdings to 408.2 tonnes. Another key buyer was Brazil, which added 53.7 tonnes to its gold reserves.

The WGC report noted that Poland added 3.1 tonnes during H1, registering its first increase in its gold holdings since mid-2019. The other central banks to add to its holdings (in tonnes) were: Uzbekistan (25.5), India (29), Cambodia (5) and Mongolia (1.8).