It’s already looking like it could be a dramatic year for the US dollar, and a good time to check in on a few of the major troubled currencies around the world: the Turkish Lira, Argentine Peso, and Russian Ruble.
In this week’s Friday Gold Wrap Podcast, JD and Joel discuss why gold is down this week, Powell’s comments on 60 Minutes about the debt, and some Valentine’s Day thoughts inspired by Austrian economist Carl Menger.
Total gold demand hit an all-time high in 2023, according to a recent report released by the World Gold Council.
Last week, the World Gold Council (WGC) released its Gold Demand Trends report, which tracks developments in the demand for and use of gold around the world. Excluding over-the-counter (OTC) trade, 2023 gold demand fell slightly from 2022 to just under 4,500 tonnes. With OTC demand accounted for, last year’s demand peaked at 4,899 tonnes, the highest figure ever recorded.
After setting a record through the first half of the year, central banks continued to gobble up gold in the third quarter.
Globally, central banks added a net 337 tons of gold in Q3, the second-highest third-quarter total on record behind 2022.
Through the first nine months of the year, central banks bought a net of 800 tons of gold. That’s 14% more than through the same period in 2022.
Yet another country wants gold.
On Monday (Sept. 25), the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) announced it is buying gold from domestic sources to establish its own reserves.
Poland is buying gold again.
The National Bank of Poland added nearly 15 tons of gold to its reserves in April, according to data published by the bank last week. It was the largest increase in the country’s reserves since June 2019 when the bank boosted reserves by almost 100 tons.
Note: This article has been edited with additional data reported by the World Gold Council released after publication.
After charting the highest level of net gold purchases on record in 2022, central banks started out 2023 right where they left off.
Central banks globally added another net 77 tons to their gold reserves in January, according to the latest data compiled by the World Gold Council.
We talk a lot about the Federal Reserve. Its policies have a significant impact on the economy and it moves markets week after week. For instance, over the last year or so, the Fed’s “inflation fight” has created headwinds for gold and silver.
But what exactly is the Federal Reserve?
Central banks globally added another net 50 tons of gold to their reserves in November, driven in part by the first official purchase by China since 2019.
After adding a historically high amount of gold to reserves in the third quarter, central banks kicked off Q4 buying more gold.
According to data compiled by the World Gold Council, central banks globally added another 31 tons of gold to official reserves in October.
