Informist, Monday, May 6, 2024

MUMBAI – The Reserve Bank of India's gold reserves rose by 5.1 tn to 822.1 tn in March, the World Gold Council said on Friday, citing data from the International Monetary Fund's International Financial Statistics. Globally, central banks added 16 tn of gold to their reserves in March, the same as in February.

The Indian central bank bought 18.5 tn gold in Jan-Mar and its reserves rose to the highest level ever. The share of the precious metal in the central bank's total reserves was 9% in March. India has the 10th-largest official gold holdings in the world.

RBI buying in Jan-Mar exceeded total purchases of 16.2 tn in 2023. So far in 2024, only Turkey and China have bought more gold than India.

"Buying strength has continued into 2024, with emerging market banks the main driving force for both purchases and sales," said Krishan Gopaul, senior analyst, EMEA, World Gold Council. March transactions were led by central banks that have been active recently, he said.

The major gold buyers were from emerging markets. The People's Bank of China bought 5 tn in March, the 17th successive month of buying. Gold reserves with the Chinese central bank climbed to 2,262.4 tn as of March end, according to WGC.

Other significant buyers of gold in March were the Central Bank of Turkey with 14 tn, the National Bank of Kazakhstan with 4 tn, the Monetary Authority of Singapore with 4 tn, the Central Bank of Russia with 3 tn, the Czech National Bank with 1 tn, and National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic with 1 tn.

The Bank of Thailand and the Central Bank of Jordan were notable sellers in March, offloading 10 tn and 4 tn, respectively, from their reserves.

Cumulatively, global central banks held 35,938.9 tn of gold reserves as of the end of February.

The June gold contract on the COMEX was at $2,317.8 per ounce, up 0.4% from Friday's close. End

US$1 = 83.47 rupees

Reported by Sandeep Sinha

Edited by Avishek Dutta

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