Central Bank Gold Buying Reaches 3-Year High

(November 1, 2018 - Jeff Davies)

Central bank buyers acquired approximately $5.8 billion worth of gold in the third quarter of the fiscal 2018, marking the highest level of net purchases since 2015, the World Gold Council said in a release issued on Thursday. The demand in the sector saw a rise of 22% year-over-year, as central banks bought 148.4t of gold.

Meanwhile, looking at gold bars and coins, stock market volatility and weakness in currencies drove demand higher in the emerging markets. In China, largest global bar and coin market, demand jumped 25% in the third quarter on a yearly level. Demand in Iran hit a five-and-a-half year high.

Looking at the figures of gold demand in technological applications, an increase of 1% was seen during the three-month period year-over-year, to amount to 85.3t, primarily due to the precious metal’s use in smartphones and the automotive sector.