Egypt Tops Central Bank Gold Purchases So Far In 2022

(June 6th, 2022 - Cleofe Maceda)

Gold holdings of central banks expanded in April by 19.4 tons, driven primarily by purchases in certain markets, according to the latest World Gold Council report. 

Central banks in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkey were the major buyers during the month, adding 8.7 tonnes, 5.3 tonnes and 5.6 tonnes to their gold reserves, respectively. However, on a year-to-date basis, Egypt emerged as the largest gold buyer. 

India, one of the world’s biggest gold consumers, also increased its gold holdings in April, but only by a fractional 0.9 tonnes. 

Egypt purchased 44.1 tons of gold in March, making it the largest buyer of gold so far. Turkey came second, having bought 42.5 tons to the end of April. 

“So far in 2022, central banks’ monthly gold reported activity has been bobbing between net purchases and sales linked to a fairly small number of banks,” noted Mukesh Kumar, World Gold Council Senior Analyst, India.