Dubai, United Arab Emirates, April 02, 2020:   Krishan Gopaul, Market Intelligence Manager at World Gold Council comments: “Central banks’ monthly net purchases picked up in January and February following December’s five-month low. However, central bank gold demand has eased significantly, with net gold purchases down 44% compared to strength of demand we saw in January and February 2019.

 

“Looking ahead, what we do know is that recent market instability and uncertainty stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic will be at the forefront of central bankers’ minds, with a number of unprecedented interventions already proving this point. Nonetheless, we will have to wait and see how this impacts their outlook in the coming months.”

 

The World Gold Council today releases its monthly statistical update on gold reserves in the official sector. This monthly release includes:

1. World Official Gold Holdings ranking gold holdings by country

2. A spreadsheet with the latest changes in official sector gold holdings

 

In 2020, only five countries have increased gold reserves by at least a tonne:

 

• Turkey (+41.0)

• Russian Federation (+19.0)

• United Arab Emirates (+5.9) 

• Republic of Kazakhstan (+2.8)

• Mongolia (+1.0)