Russia Leads Central Bank Gold Buying in 2017
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation is the World’s Leading Buyer of Gold
Last week we published the top ten gold holding nations. Of the top ten, only the central banks of Russia and China have been adding gold to their reserves over the past few years. In 2017, however, the People’s Bank of China has reported that they have added no gold to reserves from the period of January – July 2017.
In 2017, the Central Bank of Turkey began adding gold to her reserves after selling a portion of her gold reserves in 2016 and the National Bank of Kazakhstan continued to add gold to her reserves.
Set forth below are the central banks that have added the most gold so far to their reserves from January to July 2017:
The Central Bank of the Federation of Russia – Global Rank #6
Russia’s central bank has added approximately 115 tons of gold to her reserves in 2017 through July. In 2015, Russia added about 205 tons of gold and about 199 tons in 2016. At the current pace, the Central Bank of the Federation of Russia will add another 200 tons of gold in 2017.
Russia’s gold buying spree has landed her in the number six spot among gold holding nations. If Russia continues to add gold to reserves at the current pace and the People’s Bank of China continues to keep her gold buying program on hold, Russia could pass China in the first quarter of 2018 and become the fifth largest gold holding nation in the world.
Russia is one of the top three gold producing nations with mining production of about 300 tons a year.
The Turkish Central Bank – Global Rank #11
After selling about 140 tons of gold in 2016, the Turkish Central Bank has added about 80 tons of gold back to her reserves in 2017. As of August 2017, Turkish gold reserves stood at 456 tons, ranking it 11th among gold holding nations. While Turkish central bank holdings are modest, Turkish citizens represent the fourth largest gold market in the world. It is estimated that Turkish citizens hold about 3,500 tons of gold. Turkey has a small but growing gold mining industry that has produced about 20-35 tons of gold a year for the past few years.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan – Global Rank – #21
Through June 2017, Kazakhstan has added gold to her reserves 57 months in a row. In 2016, the National Bank of Kazakhstan added approximately 36 tons of gold to her reserves. Through the first six months of 2017, Kazakhstan has added about twenty tons of gold to her reserves.
Kazakhstan is also a large gold producer, ranking 16th in the world in annual production in 2016 with about 53 tons. When Kazakhstan reports its gold reserves through the end of July later this month, its updated total should place it in the top twenty gold holding nations by passing Austria who lists 280 tons of gold as reserves.
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This article by BGASC is not, and should not be regarded as, investment advice or as a recommendation regarding any particular course of action.