Source: SchiffGold.com
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.
The People’s Bank of China announced it bought 32 tons of gold in November.
The Chinese central bank accumulated 1,448 tons of gold between 2002 and 2019, and then suddenly went silent. Many speculate that the Chinese continued to add gold to its holdings off the books during those silent years.
There were large unreported increases in gold holdings in the third quarter of this year. Central banks that often fail to report purchases include China and Russia. Many analysts believe China is the mystery buyer stockpiling gold to minimize exposure to the dollar.
There has always been speculation that China holds far more gold than it officially reveals. As Jim Rickards pointed out on Mises Daily back in 2015, many people speculate that China keeps several thousand tons of gold “off the books” in a separate entity called the State Administration for Foreign Exchange (SAFE).
The Central Bank of Türkiye continued to buy gold in November, adding a further 19 tons to its official reserves. Turkey has been the biggest purchaser of gold in 2022, adding 123 tons to its reserves so far. Its official gold reserves currently stand at 517 tons, 27% of its total reserves.
The Central Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic added to its gold reserves for the first time this year, buying 3 tons in November to increase its total gold reserves to 16 tons.
The Czech Republic made a small purchase of 0.4 tons….