Krishan Gopaul

Having reported a return to net buying in June, the latest data shows global central banks continued to add to their gold reserves in July. Central banks reported healthy net purchases of 55t during the month.

Reported net purchases from central banks totalled 55t, the first month of sizeable global net buying since February.

As in recent months, activity from the Central Bank of Türkiye (CBRT) was pivotal to the global total.

Global central banks reported net sales of 27t in May, less than half the net sales seen in April. Excluding Türkiye’s sales, the trend in central bank buying is still in place.

Annual gold production rank in 2022 was unchanged y/y amongst the five largest gold producing nations, with China still the world's largest gold producer. Extending this to the top 20 countries, things look very different compared to 2010. But, more broadly, global gold mine production remains geographically diverse.

Central bank gold reserves declined by 71 tonnes in April, primarily due to Turkish selling. Despite this, we expect central banks to remain net buyers in 2023, supported by their overall positive sentiment towards gold reserves.

According to the IMF, reported global central bank gold reserves remained virtually unchanged in March. Available data shows purchases almost perfectly offset sales, resulting in a net increase of 0.2 tonnes.

Central bank gold demand in 2023 picked up from where it left off in 2022. In January, central banks collectively added a net 31t to global gold reserves  (+16% m-o-m).

In December, central banks have reported adding a net 28t of gold to global reserves, down sharply (53%) from the previous month (60t).

Central banks bought a further 50 tonnes (t) on a net basis during the month, a 47% increase from October's (revised) 34t.

Central banks continue to accumulate gold according to the latest data available. In October – data is lagged by two months – central banks added a further net 31t of gold to international reserves (-41% m-o-m).

Central bank net purchases of gold slowed to 20t in August, halving m-o-m. This is the fifth consecutive month of net purchases from the central banking sector.

Central bank demand remained robust in July. Global gold reserves increased by 37t (net), below June’s 64t increase. Added to the 270 of net purchases over H1, this pushes YTD central bank demand towards the 300t mark.

Last week we published our updated central bank gold statistics to include data reported for June. This new information shows that central banks added a net 59t to global gold reserves during the month.

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.