Gold Purchases by Central Banks Dropped 7% in Q2 This Year

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The net purchases of gold by world central banks declined when compared with the corresponding quarter in 2017. The purchases in Q2 this year were down by 7% over the year. However, the net purchases during the first half of the year were 8% higher than the previous year. The most recent data published by the World Gold Council (WGC) indicates that central banks across the world added 89.4t to global gold reserves, as compared with 96.4t added during Q2 in 2017. The purchases totaled 193.3t during the initial six-month period of 2018.

The net purchases were led by Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkey. Russia accumulated 53.2t in Q2 this year, registering a jump of 49% over the previous year. The country’s net purchases during H1 2018 totaled 105.3t. Kazakhstan’s gold reserves increased for the 68^th month in a row. The quarterly purchases rose modestly by 3% to 20.7t. Also, the country’s administration has backed a proposal to further increase its gold reserves. Turkey’s central bank increased its gold reserves by 8.3t in Q2 this year. The country’s gold purchases stood 82% higher over the previous year to total 38.1t during H1.

The Indian central bank reported marginal addition of 2.5t to its gold reserves in March this year. Also, Azerbaijan added nearly 2.8t of gold to its portfolio during the first half of the year. The country’s gold reserves now stand at 33t.

Meantime, a number of central banks reported decline in gold reserves in H1. The prominent among them was Venezuela. The country’s gold reserves declined significantly by 11.9t in H1 2018, mainly on the back of falling economy. The Australian gold reserves dropped by 4.1t. Germany and Sri Lanka too registered drop in reserves by 3.8t and 2.4t respectively. Also, Ukraine witnessed a net reduction of 1.2t.