WGC: Central Banks Were Committed Buyers of Gold in January

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The World Gold Council (WGC) noted that gold demand from central banks in 2023 picked up from where it left off in 2022.

During the opening month of the year, central banks around the world added 31 tonnes to their global gold reserves, considerably higher by 16% from the prior month. The purchases remained within the range of 20-60t reported over the past ten consecutive months of net gold purchases.

According to Krishan Gopaul, Senior Analyst, EMEA World Gold Council, three banks accounted for gross purchase of 44 tonnes, while one bank reported sales of 12 tonnes. The largest gold buyer in January 2023 was the Central Bank of Turkiye, which added 23 tonnes of gold to its official reserves. The People’s Bank of China increased its net gold holdings by 15 tonnes, thus lifting its total gold holdings to 2.025 tonnes. Also, the National Bank of Kazakhstan boosted its gold reserves by 4 tonnes during the month.

Meantime, the European Central Bank (ECB) recorded marginal rise in its gold reserves by 2 tonnes in January this year.

The only prominent seller during the month was the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, which reduced its gold holdings by almost 12 tonnes during the month to 384 tonnes. The gold reserves accounted for nearly 66% of the total reserves.