World Gold Council Survey: 45% of Central Banks Plan to Increase Gold Reserves in the Next Year

ME News reports that on June 16 (UTC+8), the World Gold Council (WGC) stated that 45% of central banks surveyed expect to increase their gold holdings over the next 12 months, up two percentage points from a year ago. In the WGC’s annual survey conducted between February 5 and May 19, 54% of the 74 central banks surveyed indicated their gold holdings would remain unchanged, while 1% anticipated a decline. Most responses were received after the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East in late February, which triggered rising oil prices and a decline in gold prices. The WGC’s Global Head of Central Banks said central banks remain strongly committed to gold, and recent price declines have not altered their views. Additionally, the WGC noted that 93% of respondents currently hold gold, up from 81% a year ago. Among the key reasons for holding gold, a high 90% of respondents cited gold’s strong performance during times of crisis. Other primary reasons include long-term value storage and portfolio diversification. Respondents from emerging markets and developing economies (85%) placed greater emphasis on gold as a hedge against geopolitical risk. As some central banks continue to relocate their gold reserves, 9% of respondents reported increasing their domestic gold reserves over the past 12 months, up from 5% last year; 10% said they had diversified the locations of their overseas gold reserves, up from 2% last year. Over the next 12 months, 7% of central banks plan to increase domestic storage, and 9% plan to diversify their overseas storage locations. (Jin10) (Source: ODAILY)