The Reserve Bank of India has continued its gold haul, adding 8 tonnes to the strategic reserves in November, taking the cumulative additions in the 11 months to 73 tonnes. This takes the total reserves of the country to 786 tonnes. However, many of India's counterparts added a total of about 53 tonnes to their reserves in the month, led by Poland’s 21 tonnes.
According to the World Gold Council’s latest monthly report released on Monday, other significant contributors are Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China, Jordan, Turkey, the Czech Republic, and Ghana. Singapore, however, reduced its gold reserves by 5 tonnes.
On the RBI buy, the Council said; “the Reserve Bank continued with its 2024 buying streak, adding a further 8 tonnes to its gold reserves in November. This lifted the year-to-date buying to 73 tonne and total gold holdings to 786 tonnes, maintaining its position as the second largest buyer in 2024, after Poland.”
In 2024, central banks, mostly those from emerging markets, remained the largest buyers of the yellow metal, driven by the need for a stable and secure asset amid global economic uncertainties.
"Assessing the final act of 2024, central banks around the world continued to play a leading role in gold demand. November saw another solid month of gold buying as central banks which collectively added a net 53 tonne to global official holdings," WGC said in the report, which attributed the large haulage to the dip in the gold price in November following the US election.
According to WGC, the National Bank of Poland was the largest buyer in November increasing its gold reserves by 21 tonne and taking its total year-to-date purchase to 90 tonne and the total holding to 448 tonne.
The Uzbekistani central bank added 9 tonne, taking its year-to-date net purchases to 11 tonne and total gold holdings to 382 tonne.
The People's Bank of China resumed its gold purchases after a six-month hiatus, adding 5 tonne to the reserves, and increasing its year-to-date net purchases to 34 tonne and the holdings to 2,264 tonne which is 5 percent of total reserves, the report said.
Meanwhile, the Monetary Authority of Singapore was the month's largest seller, reducing its gold reserves by 5 tonne, bringing the year-to-date net sales to 7 tonne and overall gold holdings to 223 tonne, the report said.