(Kitco News) – China added to its gold reserves for the sixth straight month in April, the country’s central bank reported on Wednesday, as other sovereign buyers continued to build up their bullion holdings despite record-setting prices.
“Data released by the People's Bank of China shows that its #gold reserves increased by 2 tonnes in April - the sixth consecutive month of purchases,” wrote Krishan Gopaul, Senior Analyst, EMEA, at the World Gold Council. “Year-to-date net purchases now total 15 tonnes, helping to lift gold reserves to 2,294 tonnes.
China’s gold reserves have risen by approximately 30 tonnes in the latest six months, even as the precious metal has set multiple new all-time highs on its way to a nearly 30% gain on the year.
“The modest volumes bought over the last few months suggest that while they are buyers, they will only do so if the price is attractive,” Ross Norman, chief executive officer at Metals Daily told Bloomberg. “Likely we will see ongoing purchases of gold by PBoC, as they scale back on US dollar denominated assets such as Treasuries.”
Last year’s number one sovereign buyer also continued their torrid pace of purchases. “Data reported by the National Bank of Poland (NBP) shows its #gold reserves rose 12 tonnes in April, to 509 tonnes,” Gopaul said in a separate post on Wednesday. “Year-to-date, the NBP has now bought 61 tonnes, two thirds of its total net purchases in 2024 (90 tonnes).”
And Czechia also added significantly to its gold reserves last month. “The Czech National Bank has reported increasing its #gold reserves by a further 2.5 tonnes in April,” Gopaul noted. “It has now added gold for 26 consecutive months, over which time it has bought a total of 47 tonnes. Total gold holdings [were] nearly 59 tonnes at the end of April.”
Central bank purchases remain a solid pillar in the gold market, but demand has slowed from the record pace set last year, according to the World Gold Council's recently published quarterly Gold Demand Trends report.
The data showed central banks bought 243.7 tonnes of gold between January and March, down 21% from the 309.9 tonnes bought last year.
“While this demand was markedly lower than the previous quarter, in absolute terms it was still healthy at 24% above the five-year quarterly average, and just 9% below the average seen over the last three years of very elevated demand,” WGC analysts said. “The overall buying trend is now entering its sixteenth year, fresh off the back of colossal buying in the last three years."
"But what’s next for central bank gold demand? We anticipate that heightened levels of uncertainty will maintain gold’s role as a valuable component of international reserves going forward, and this will support demand in the near term,” they added.
