Central bank gold purchases reach a record quarterly level this year in the third quarter, with 400 tons purchased, the largest ever

As demand jumped from a year ago in the third quarter, central bank gold purchases hit an all-time quarterly record in the third quarter of 2022. The quarterly report states that the world’s central banks purchased nearly 400 tons of gold and the WGC study states that this is “the largest on record.”

Q3 2022 data shows that the world’s central banks have stacked nearly 400 tons of gold.

On November 1, 2022, the World Gold Council (WGC) released its report “Gold Demand Trends Q3 2022“, which highlights current trends related to gold and the precious metal markets during the third quarter. The WGC report, published on gold.org, states that the third quarter was a healthy one, driven by “increased consumer and central bank buying“. WGC notes that these factors have allowed year-to-date demand to “return to pre-crisis norms“.

“Gold demand (excluding OTC) in the third quarter was up 28% year-on-year to 1,181t“, notes the WGC report. “Year-to-date demand is up 18% compared to the same period in 2021, returning to pre-pandemic levels.“

While consumer demand for gold has increased, central bank demand for gold has reached an all-time high, as far as quarterly central bank purchases are concerned. Among central banks, the largest buyers in the third quarter of 2022 were Turkey, Uzbekistan and Qatar.

“Turkey remained the largest reported buyer of gold this year“, the WGC report said. “It added 31t in the third quarter, bringing its gold reserves to 489t (29% of total reserves). Since the beginning of the year, it has added 95t to its gold reserves.“

WGC researchers found that Uzbekistan keeps accumulating gold as it bought 26 tons of the precious metal in the third quarter. The report explains that Uzbekistan has also been “a consistent buyer of gold” over the past two quarters.

Qatar’s Central Bank made a record purchase by buying 15 tons of gold during the third quarter. The WGC reports that Qatar’s gold purchase “appears to be its largest monthly purchase on record since 1967“.

The WGC report states that some central banks also do not report their gold purchases. “The level of official sector demand in the third quarter is a combination of regular reported central bank purchases and a substantial estimate of unreported purchases,” the WGC report states.

Kazakhstan sold 2 tons of gold in the third quarter, and the country’s central bank was the largest net seller in the third quarter. WGC researchers say that “it is not uncommon” for central banks to “oscillate between buying and selling.“According to the WGC survey, official sector gold demand confirms the findings of this year’s Gold Markets Survey. annual central bank survey.

“The continuing trend in official sector gold demand corroborates the results of our 2022 annual central bank survey, in which one-quarter of respondents stated their intention to increase their gold reserves over the next 12 months (compared with one-fifth in 2021)“, the WGC researchers conclude in the report. central bank section of the report.