Kazakhstan Adds Gold To Reserves For the 69th Month in a Row
Kazakhstan Central Bank Gold Reserves Rise to 321.61 Tons.
After adding gold to reserves for 69 consecutive months, the Central Bank of Kazakhstan’s gold reserves are approaching those of Saudi Arabia. As of the end of June, Kazakhstan’s gold reserves were 11.3 tons ahead of the United Kingdom’s 310.3 tons and just 1.3 tons behind the 322.9 ton gold holdings of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Kazakhstan’s gold holdings have increased from 198 tons to nearly 322 tons from 2015 to mid 2018.
The Central Bank of Kazakhstan’s gold reserves are remarkable given the size of its population and economy. Kazakhstan has a population of just 34 million, compared to the United Kingdom’s 66 million. The GDP of Kazakhstan was $160 billion in 2017, while according to the International Monetary Fund the GDP of the United Kingdom was $2.5 trillion. Kazakhstan’s gold reserves were worth $12.934 billion as of June 30, 2018 or over 8% of their GDP!
Kazakhstan Gold Mining Production Surges
Kazakhstan benefits from a domestic gold mining industry that is surging. According to the United States Geological Survey, Kazakh gold mining production was just 21 tons in 2008 and grew to 69 and 70 tons in 2016 and 2017, respectively. In 2016 the Central Bank of Kazakhstan added 36 tons of gold to her reserves and added 40 tons in 2017.
Kazakhstan’s Consistent Gold Buying
So far in 2018, Kazakhstan has added 19 tons of gold. As a result of increasing gold reserves, gold as a percentage of reserves has risen from about 28% in 2015 to about 43.0% in 2018. The lower gold price the past two months has decreased the percentage of gold holdings in dollar terms even though overall gold tonnage has increased.
Central bank gold buying over the past five years has been concentrated in the central banks of China, Russia and Kazakhstan. More recently, the Turkish central bank has begun adding gold to reserves. The gold buying of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the Central Bank of Russia has been substantial enough to vault both of them into the top ten gold holding nations of the world. The PBOC, however has not reported adding gold to reserves since October 2016. Turkey’s gold acquisitions in 2017 and early 2018 have pushed it into the top ten. The National Bank of Kazakhstan’s gold purchases the past three years has moved it from thirty-fifth place to fifteenth place among gold holding nations – ahead of the United Kingdom and just behind Saudi Arabia.
This article by BGASC is not, and should not be regarded as, investment advice or as a recommendation regarding any particular course of action.