WGC: Gold Buying by Central Banks Hit Modest Pace in Q3

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The World Gold Council (WGC) Gold Demand Trends Q3 2021 report says that pace of gold purchases by central banks slowed during the third quarter of the year. This is in sharp contrast to the corresponding quarter in 2020, which recorded net selling.

The net purchases totalled 69 tonnes in Q3 this year. This is significantly down by 64% from 191 tonnes in the prior quarter. The year-to-date (YTD) gold purchases totalled 393 tonnes, almost double over the comparable year-to-date period in 2020. The YTD gold purchases have surpassed the annual gold purchases of 255 tonnes in 2020 and are poised to hit new peak in 2021.

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The largest buyer of gold during the quarter was the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), whose gold reserves surged higher by 41 tonnes to 745 tonnes. The Central Bank of Brazil added 9 tonnes to its gold reserves in Q3. The other major gold buyers during the quarter were Uzbekistan (26 tonnes), Kazakhstan (7 tonnes) and Russia (6 tonnes). The Philippines and Mongolia too increased their gold reserves, WGC report noted.

On the contrary, Turkey sold 13 tonnes of gold during the quarter. The only other notable seller was Qatar, which registered 3 tonnes of gold sales.