Source: SchiffGold.com
There’s no sign of a slowdown in central bank gold buying.
In February, central bank gold reserves rose by another 52 tons, according to the latest data compiled by the World Gold Council.
It was the 11th straight month of central bank net gold purchases.
Through the first two months of 2023, net central bank gold purchases came in at 125 tons. This is the strongest start to a year since 2010.
China was the biggest buyer in February. The Peoples Bank of China increased gold holdings by a reported 24.9 tons. It was the fourth consecutive month of reported Chinese gold purchases. In that time, China’s official gold reserves have grown by 102 tons.
The Chinese central bank accumulated 1,448 tons of gold between 2002 and 2019, and then suddenly went silent until it resumed reporting in November 2022. Many speculate that the Chinese continued to add gold to its holdings off the books during those silent years.
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).
Last year, there were large unreported increases in central bank gold holdings. 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.
Turkey continued to pile up gold, adding another 22.5 tons of gold to its hoard in February. The Central Bank of Türkiye was the biggest gold buyer in 2022 and has increased its gold holding for 15 straight months.
Turkey has been battling rampant inflation. Price inflation accelerated to as high as 85% last year and was at 64% in December. The Turkish lira depreciated by almost 30% last year. Meanwhile, the price of gold in lira terms increased by 40% on an annual basis, according to Bloomberg.
After a pause in January, India went back to buying gold in February, adding 2.8 tons to its reserves. India ranks as the ninth largest gold-holding country in the world. Since resuming buying in late 2017, the Reserve Bank of India has purchased over 200 tons of gold. In August 2020, there were reports that the RBI was considering significantly raising its gold reserves. India now holds 790 tons of gold.
After a massive 44.6-ton increase in its gold reserves in January, Singapore continued its buying spree in February with another 6.8-ton purchase.
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan added 8 tons of gold to its reserves, following three consecutive months of sales.
Mexico bought 0.3 tons of gold in February….