World central banks have added almost 273 tonnes of gold last year, according to World Gold Council (WGC) report. The Gold Demand Trends report that was published by WGC noted that the official gold reserves by central banks around the world surged further for the 11th consecutive year in 2021.
The report said that the addition was the lowest tonnage of purchases since 2010. The yearly purchases in the previous year were lower considerably by almost 60% when compared to the record purchases of 669 tonnes seen in 2019.
Several central banks reported gold outflows in H2 2021. Nevertheless, the financial institutions resumed purchases in Q4. The Q4 2021 net purchases of 44.8 tonnes of gold were down steeply by 68% in the previous year’s quarter.
The biggest buyer was the Turkish Central Bank that added 134.5 tonnes to its official gold reserves last year. The aggressive purchases have lifted the country’s cumulative gold reserves to 547 tonnes which accounts for 42% of the total reserves.
India acquired 38 tonnes last year, which made it the second-biggest buyer. Russia came in third after adding around 27.4 tonnes of gold to its reserves. The other countries that have added significant amounts of gold to their reserves include the UAE (23.9 tonnes), Qatar (14.5 tonnes), and Cambodia (5 tonnes).
Colombia, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, Germany, Philippines, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia reduced their gold reserves last year.
