Featured Report
Gold ETFs bounce back to begin 2022 led by North American funds
Global gold ETFs drew net inflows of 46.3t (US$2.7bn, 1.3% of AUM) in January, led by North American funds – partially offsetting the region’s 2021 outflows. These combined with positive flows from Europe significantly outweighed Asian outflows. Overall, net inflows were driven largely by gold price strength and a sharp selloff in equity markets, despite a reversal in the gold price on the back of a hawkish US Fed statement towards the end of the month.
Gold Demand Trends Full Year 2021
Strong Q4 lifts full year demand 10%
Annual demand recovered across virtually all sectors – the notable exception being ETFs, which saw net annual outflows
Central Bank Digital Currencies and Gold
Together with our partners at OMFIF, we have written a report on the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the implications for the gold market. CBDCs can potentially enable a wide range of new features. Money can become programmable, allowing policymakers to incentivise certain spending behaviours that can optimise economic impact or address social concerns. The trackable nature of CBDCs can also help to deter financial crimes. The ability to easily deploy “helicopter money” may also spark concerns about inflation.
A Central Banker’s Guide to Gold as a Reserve Asset - Second edition
This year marks 50 years since the end of gold’s formal link to currency. In the half-century that has passed since this milestone, the world has evolved in ways that were probably unimaginable to the political and economic leaders of that time. As the world has changed, so too has the role of gold. Whereas central banks steadily sold down their gold reserves for several decades after the end of the Bretton Woods system, they have since re-emerged as net buyers of gold for the past eleven years, with emerging market countries leading the way.
Monetary Gold and Central Bank Capital
This paper looks at the vulnerabilities specific to central bank balance sheets and discusses how gold holdings can mitigate the risks posed. In particular, it focuses on the way gold holdings can affect the revaluation reserves that form part of central bank equity.
Central Bank Domestic ASGM Purchase Programmes
Gold has been at the heart of central banking for centuries. Once an official currency, it has become a cornerstone of modern reserve management. Emerging market central banks have been particularly active purchasers in recent years, and have occasionally acquired gold from local artisanal and small-scale producers.
Gold deposit rates - a guidance paper
In this paper, we seek to answer those questions by assessing how gold lease rates have been affected in the past through changes in the demand to borrow gold and the supply of gold available for lending.
Gold and central bank reserve management during the Covid-19 pandemic
Central bank reserves are typically constructed according to three guiding principles: safety, liquidity and return. The Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced the significance of these principles and, by extension, the importance of smart and sustainable reserve management.
Central Banks
Gold plays a prominent role in reserve asset management, being one of the few assets that is universally permitted by the investment guidelines of the world’s central banks. This is in part due to the gold market being deep and liquid – a key requirement of reserve asset managers.
A Central Banker’s Guide to Gold as a Reserve Asset - 2019 edition
In 2018, central banks added more gold to their international reserves than at any time since the end of Bretton Woods nearly 50 years ago. Nineteen central banks reported a meaningful increase in their gold reserves, giving rise to total purchases of 651 tonnes.
