Central bank demand has been a key supporter of higher gold prices – a factor that appears to be here for the long term. New data confirms that China, which led central bank acquisitions in 2023, continues to buy gold in substantial volumes. It added an additional 12 tonnes to its vaults in February, according to figures from the World Gold Council. This takes its total gold holdings to 2,257t and makes the 16th successive month of acquisitions for the People’s Bank of China (PBoC).
The World Gold Council’s Head of Research in China, Ray Jia said, “So far in 2024, China’s gold reserves have increased by 22t. And during the past 16 months the PBoC has reported total gold purchases amounting to 309t.
“At the end of February gold accounted for 4.3% of China’s total foreign exchange reserves, up from 3.4% in November 2022, the time at which the PBoC resumed its gold purchase announcements.”
Central bank demand is great news for the bulls as it provides an underlying support that is known to have contributed to its performance over the last 18 months. Do as the central banks do. Buy gold now.