The
data underlines a shift in attitudes to gold since the 1990s and 2000s, when
central banks, particularly those in Western Europe that own a lot of bullion,
sold hundreds of tons a year.
Since
the financial crisis of 2008-09, European banks stopped selling and a growing
number of emerging economies such as Russia, Turkey and India have bought.
Buying dipped during the coronavirus pandemic but
accelerated in the second half of 2022, with central banks purchasing 862 tons
between July and December 2022, according to the WGC.
Banks
including those of Turkey, China, Egypt and Qatar said they bought gold last
year. But around two-thirds of the gold bought by central banks last year was
not reported publicly, the WGC said.
Banks that have not regularly published information about
changes in their gold stockpiles include those of China and Russia.
"Central bank buying in 2023 is unlikely to match 2022
levels," the WGC said.
"Lower total reserves may constrain the capacity to add
to existing allocations. But lagged reporting by some central banks means that
we need to apply a high degree of uncertainty to our expectations,
predominantly to the upside."
The
central bank purchases took total gold global gold demand last year to 4,741
tons, up 18% from 2021 and the highest for any year since 2011.
