Central banks strengthen their interest in gold

Central banks around the world have increased their gold spending to their highest levels of nearly three years, according to a report by the World Gold Council (WGC).

More than 148 metric tons of gold have been purchased by national banks over the past three months, up 22% in the same period last year. This, at the current spot price of $ 1,223 per troy ounce, amounts to $ 5.82 billion. The Russian Central Bank led the ranking, buying nearly 92 tons of gold. Such purchase has not existed since 1993. Turkey's Central Bank has bought 18.5 tonnes, Kazakhstan 13.4 tonnes, and India's 13.7 tonnes.

Despite the appetite of several central banks, the price of gold fell by 4% during this period, which led to a drop in the asset's price below $ 1,200 to reach its lowest point in January 2017. WGC points out that demand for parent metal has been accompanied and from a strong purchase of physical coins, kegs and jewels. WGC data reveal that the sale of gold by the ETF in gold in the third quarter is about 116 tons.

After the full buy-out effect, net purchases of gold in the last quarter amounted to 964.3 tonnes, up 6.2 tonnes more than last year.

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