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Central bank gold buying update: 2023 sees the strongest start to a year in more than a decade

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(Kitco News) The gold market continued to receive support from central banks as countries kept adding gold to their reserves in February, marking the strongest start to the year since at least 2010, according to the latest data released by the World Gold Council (WGC).

Global gold reserves increased by 52 tonnes in February, rising for the 11th month in a row, the WGC said Tuesday. In January, central banks bought 74 tonnes of gold. And that follows record levels of last year, with 1,136 tonnes purchased.

Year-to-date, central banks' net purchases stand at 125 tonnes. "This is the strongest start to a year back to at least 2010 – when central banks became net buyers on an annual basis," said WGC's senior analyst Krishan Gopaul.

The biggest purchaser in February was the People's Bank of China, with 25 tonnes bought. This was the fourth monthly increase for China, during which the PBOC added 102 tonnes of gold.

The Turkish central bank bought gold for the 15th month in February, adding 22 tonnes to its reserves. Turkey was the largest gold buyer last year.

Also, the Central Bank of Uzbekistan added eight tonnes, Singapore bought seven, and the Reserve Bank of India added three.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan was the only net seller, offloading 13 tonnes.

The February data excludes newly revealed Russia numbers, the WGC added. Russia disclosed that it bought one million ounces (31 tonnes) of gold between February 2022 and March 2023.

"Based on the new information, gold reserves now account for 24% of Russia's international reserves," said Gopaul.

By

Anna Golubova

For Kitco News

Contact agolubova@kitco.com
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