Central bank demand remained robust in July. Global gold reserves increased by 37t (net), below June’s 64t increase.
According to Krishan Gopaul, senior analyst for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at the Council, the net increase in July was less than the 64 tons recorded in June. “In addition to 270 tons of net purchases in H1, this brings the central bank’s demand since the beginning of the year to around 300 tons,” he said.
The Qatar Central Bank was the largest buyer, adding 15t of gold to its official reserves in July. This addition appears to be the largest monthly increase on record (back to 1967), although it should be noted that early data is patchy. Its gold reserves now stand at 72t (10 percent of total reserves), the highest on record in tonnage terms.
The Reserve Bank of India, a regular buyer, added over 13t tonnes to its gold reserves – the highest monthly purchase since September 2021 (19t). This lifts total gold reserves to 781t, up 27t year-to-date.
The Central Bank of Türkiye (Turkey) increased official gold reserves by 12t in July. This is broadly in line with the monthly average so far this year and takes y-t-d net gold purchases to 75t. Total official gold reserves now stand at 469t, a two-year high.
Additionally, the Central Bank of Uzbekistan bought a further 9t of gold in July – the same volume as in June. After selling 25t in Q1, net purchases for the year so far now total 11t. Gold reserves now total 373t (61 percent of total reserves).
Meanwhile, the National Bank of Kazakhstan was the only notable seller according to officially reported data. It sold 11t in July, bringing its y-t-d net sales to just under 30t. Total official gold reserves now amount to 373t, accounting for 64% of total reserves. As reported by Bloomberg, the bank indicated that any further sales would be dependent on market conditions.
