Early September data show central bank gold demand remains strong - WGC's Gopaul

Wed Oct 11 2023

While the definitive IMF data has yet to be released, the early returns on gold purchases by central banks show that buying was as strong as ever in September, according to Krishan Gopaul, senior analyst at the World Gold Council.

Gopaul shared the latest data in a series of posts on Twitter, which were gleaned from reports and media statements by the central banks themselves. The largest single purchaser last month remained China, which maintained its record-setting pace of precious metals buying.

“Data from the People's Bank of China shows they bought gold again in September,” Gopaul wrote. “Gold reserves rose by 26t, lifting their reported 2023 buying to 181t.”

China also bought 29 tonnes of gold in August. Since it started its buying spree last November, the People's Bank of China has increased its gold reserves by 243 tonnes, and the precious metal now represents over 4% of its total foreign reserves.

China’s official gold reserves now total 2,192 tonnes, though many speculate that the real quantity could be much higher.

India’s central bank also made a big splash in the gold market last month with its largest single purchase in 15 months. “Weekly data from the Reserve Bank of India suggests its #gold reserves rose by 7 tonnes in September - all added in the last week of the month,” he wrote. “This would be the largest monthly gold purchase by the RBI since July 2022 (13 tonnes), and lifts gold holdings to 807 tonnes.”

India bought 2 tonnes of the yellow metal in August, so September’s number represents a massive month-over-month jump in gold purchases by the RBI.

Poland was another major buyer in September, with the Polish central bank increasing its total gold holdings by 6% last month alone.

“Based on data published by the National Bank of Poland suggests they have added ~19 tonnes to their gold reserves in September, taking total gold holdings to ~330 tonnes,” Gopaul said, adding that the WGC would confirm the exact figures once the IMF data is released.

The National Bank of Poland also bought 18 tonnes of gold in August, and he noted that the country is on pace to reach the 100-tonne target it announced in 2021.

Gopaul also posted recent comments made by National Bank of Poland President Adam Glapinski to local media, which help to explain the central bank’s torrid pace of purchases in 2023.

Interesting comments from the President of the National Bank of Poland, suggesting their desire is to accumulate more #gold to push its share of total reserves to 20%. The bank currently holds 314 tonnes of gold, equating to ~11% of total reserves.

Source: https://www.kitco.com