Latest data released: Poland becomes the world's largest gold buyer... What is the situation in Turkey?

According to the World Gold Council, the National Bank of Poland (NBP) was the largest gold buyer among central banks in the second quarter of 2024, alongside India. This followed the NBP's purchase of approximately 19 tons of the precious metal.

National Bank of Poland Governor Adam Glapinski also stated earlier this year that he plans to ensure that gold makes up 20 percent of the central bank's reserves. Currently, gold accounts for approximately 14.7 percent of the NBP's reserves.

Grzegorz Drózdz, a market analyst at Conotoxia, said: “By the end of the second quarter of this year, Poland's gold reserves rose to 377.4 tons, and the pace of bullion purchases, which have been held primarily at the Bank of England since April of this year, has surpassed even the world's largest economies.”

In the second quarter of the year, the price of gold also exceeded a record level of $2,500 (€2,249.26) per ounce.

CBRT ADDED 15 TONS TO ITS RESERVES

This situation has led to further speculation about whether gold is currently a good investment and why central banks have recently been striving to bolster their precious metal reserves.

In addition to the National Bank of Poland and the Reserve Bank of India, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) has also continued its intensive gold purchases, adding 15 tons to its reserves in the second quarter of the year. With this amount, the Central Bank of Turkey has purchased 45 tons of gold so far this year.

The central banks of Jordan, Qatar, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, and the Czech Republic also purchased significant amounts of gold in the second quarter.

CHINA SLOWS DOWN GOLD PURCHASES

On the other hand, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) significantly slowed its gold purchases in the second quarter of the year. In Poland, demand for gold has increased following the Covid-19 pandemic and due to the Russia-Ukraine war. Many investors fear that the Russian invasion of Ukraine could spill over into Poland and want to prepare themselves for such a scenario by investing more in gold.

In other parts of the world, persistently high inflation is also driving people toward gold, while other geopolitical shocks, such as the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, are exacerbating this trend.

In addition to gold, the National Bank of Poland also announced that it is investing in foreign stocks and corporate bonds with the help of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as another way to diversify its reserves.

News Source: 12punto