In July, central banks of several nations continued to make significant gold purchases in order to increase their gold holdings. According to statistics from the Council, central banks made a net purchase of 55 tons of gold.
The largest buyer in July was the People’s Bank of China, which added 23 tons of gold to its reserves.
China has a history of consistently building up its reserves, followed by periods of silence.
From 2002 to 2019, the People’s Bank of China accumulated 1,448 tons of gold and then had minimal activity until resuming purchases since last fall.
There have always been speculations that China holds more gold than it officially discloses.
Apart from China, another country increasing its gold purchases is Turkey.
According to statistics, the total amount of gold purchased by central banks in 2022 is 1,136 tons.
According to the recent 2023 central bank gold reserves survey released by the World Gold Council, 24% of central banks plan to add gold to their reserves in the next 12 months.
