Gold as currency reserves of central banks

Central banks become net buyers of gold

Over the past 40 years, the gold holdings of the world's central banks have changed massively: Switzerland's gold holdings have declined significantly, from about 2,600 tons in 1980 to 1,040 tons by 2022. The Japanese central bank, on the other hand, has slightly increased its gold holdings: After about 753 tons in 1980, the stock rose to about 846 tons by 2022. By contrast, the emerging economies have significantly increased their gold reserves: the People's Republic of China stored almost 2,000 tons of gold in 2022, five times as much as in 1980. Turkey (1980: approx. 113 tons, 2022: approx. 404 tons), Russia (2000: approx. 384 tons, 2022: approx. 2.300 tons), Saudi Arabia (1980: approx. 142 tons, 2022: approx. 323 tons), Thailand (1980: approx. 73 tons, 2022: approx. 244 tons), Kazakhstan (2000: approx. 57 tons, 2022: approx. 385 tons) and India 1980: approx. 267 tons, 2022: approx. 755 tons) have significantly increased their gold holdings in recent decades. 

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Gold holdings of central banks and their share of foreign exchange reserves

The ability to sell and lend gold has been significantly restricted since 1999.[1] The international "Central Bank Gold Agreement" limits the annual sales of many European central banks. in 2010 and 2011, for the first time, more gold was bought than sold by central banks worldwide on an annual basis. In the coming years, global net purchases by central banks are expected to increase further. The reason for this is that emerging countries will increasingly shift their currency reserves into gold in order to stabilize their economies, currencies and financial sectors, but will also - according to the intention of the Chinese government, among others - benefit from the price of silver.