Demand for gold remained high among central banks in the month of July, reported the World Gold Council (WGC), a non-governmental organization that tracks gold sales. China’s central bank was at the top of the list for gold buyers, for the eighth month in a row.
This continued an increase that began in June, when central banks and other institutions added a net 55 metric tons of gold to their reserves. This followed from a significant decrease in central bank gold buying from March to May.
The increase was in part driven by the Central Bank of Turkey, which returned to net buying in June with 11 tons purchased. Turkey was a significant net seller in the spring due to a domestic market demand for gold caused by a temporary ban on gold imports.
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During the month of June, China was at the top of the list of central banks, buying 21 tons of gold. June was the eighth month in a row that the bank of the People’s Republic of China purchased a net positive amount of gold.
Since November 2022, China bought 165 tons of gold, an 8% increase in its reserves, making it the leading buyer of gold in the last year-to-date. It was initially a mystery as to who was the big new buyer of gold bullion in late 2022. At the time, a specialist at UBS AG bank Giovanni Staunovo speculated that China was buying gold to become less dependent on the American dollar.
The list consisted of six banks buying at a net positive rate. The National Bank of Poland was the second biggest buyer of gold in June, purchasing 14 tons. Other leading buyers in June were Uzbekistan (8 tons), Czech Republic (3 tons), Qatar (2 tons) and India (1 ton).
Central banks were reportedly buying up gold in 2022 as well, with a quarterly record of almost 400 tons, hitting an increase of 28% year-to-date in quarter three.
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