Central banks maintain interest in gold

Krishan Gopaul, Senior Analyst – EMEA at the World Gold Council, said “Central banks added a net 30.1t to global official gold reserves during July, virtually in line (+0.3%) with net purchases in June. This continues the healthy level of interest in gold we have seen from central banks so far this year.”

Gross purchases totalled 34.3t for the month, down significantly from 63.1t in June, which was boosted by Brazil’s 41.8t purchase. The large, strategic purchases we have seen from Hungary, Thailand, and Brazil in recent months are unlikely to be repeated frequently.

Total gross sales were also significantly lower compared to June. In July, they totalled a meagre 4.2t, down 28.9t month-on-month. Qatar (2.2t) and Poland (1.9t) were the only two central banks to register meaningful declines in their gold reserves.

The latest data, coupled with the findings from our recent Central Bank Survey, reinforces the view that central banks remain positive on gold. We maintain our expectation that central bank net buying will be positive for the year, and it’s looking more and more likely that it will be at a significantly higher level than 2020.