Shaokai Fan

The world appears to be poised for the next step in the evolution of money. Private cryptocurrencies have emerged as a potential new medium of exchange, although their long-term viability is yet to be proven. Central banks have also seized on the possibilities brought about by our highly digitised world with the development of central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs.

As Krishan Gopaul’s blog post last week pointed out, central banks have been buying gold during the first four months of 2021. Over that period, we estimate that the official sector has added 150-200 tonnes of gold. 

The Executive Programme in Gold Reserves Management is the World Gold Council’s flagship training programme for central banks. This video from the programme reviews the supply, demand and valuation of gold.

We have published a new report – Central bank domestic ASGM purchase programmes – which discusses the growing trend of central banks buying gold from domestically-produced sources, and the role that these institutions can play in developing and formalising the Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) sector in their countries.

In anticipation of our upcoming virtual Executive Programme for central banks and official institutions, we are launching a series of videos which review some of the core components of the Programme. Watch the first video here, which reviews the central bank case for gold.

Shaokai Fan joined Taimur Baig, Chief Economist at DBS, on the Kopi Time podcast for a conversation on gold. Listen as they discuss gold supply, demand, market structure and industry standards.

Our central banks team, in partnership with Yougov, recently concluded the 2020 Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey. This year’s survey, which saw a jump in the number of responses, shows strong signs of an increase in gold’s relevance for central bank reserve management.