Krishan Gopaul

Last week central banks stepped up their response to soaring inflation. Having been regarded as “behind the curve” in their attempts to control this issue thus far, they are now showing greater concern and resolve in bringing consumer prices down.

Global central bank gold reserves fell by 6t in February. This is the second consecutive month of net sales, something not seen since 2020. 

Following a strong 2021, in which central banks accumulated 463t of gold, today we’ve released the first set of central bank gold reserve data for 2022.

Since the Global Financial Crisis, it has been a turbulent ride for investors the world over. Europe has certainly been no exception: investors in the region have had to adapt to a high-risk environment. And as COVID-19 has introduced a new set of challenges to portfolio construction and return generation, robust risk management strategies are a top priority; wealth protection is as important as growth.

Global official gold reserves fell by 21.5t in November according to data released by the IMF. A sizable sale from Uzbekistan tipped the balance in what would have otherwise been a flat month.

Central banks bought 28.4t of gold in August, 9% less than in July. Leaving aside January’s 11.2t net sale, this is the lowest level of monthly net purchases so far this year.

In the recently published 2021 Alternative Assets in Europe report, one thing is clear: alternative assets are en vogue amongst European investors.

Listen to the latest episode of 'Dig Deep - The Mining Podcast', out this week on the latest trends in gold demand.

Based on available data, central banks bought a net 32t of gold in June 2021. While Brazil was by far the bigger buyer in the month, several other central banks were active.

Watch Maybank Asset Management’s global market outlook webinar, where we discuss topics including gold’s role as an inflation hedge, how monetary and fiscal policy impacts gold and more!

In a move which brings it closer in line with the US approach, the European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to adopt the tolerance for inflation overshooting its target. What does this mean for European investors, who have been watching the wrangling within the ECB over the direction of monetary policy for months now?

Following a higher level of monthly net purchases in March and April, our latest data published today shows that this trend continued into May.

We have written before about how, after a more inconsistent picture for central bank demand in the second half of 2020, our expectation was for continued net purchases in 2021 but at a more moderate pace than in previous record-setting years. So, how is that expectation holding up?

I recently had the pleasure of joining Rob Tyson for an episode of 'Dig Deep - The Mining Podcast' for a discussion on our latest Gold Demand Trends report. Listen now!