For the first time in 10 months, central banks turned net sellers of gold in March, data from the World Gold Council (WGC) showed.
Led by Turkey and Russia, central banks sold a net of nearly 30 tonnes of gold, offsetting purchases by other banks worldwide, according to Marissa Salim, Senior Research Lead, Asia Pacific region of WGC.
Turkey sold 60 tonnes of gold and Russia 6 tonnes in March, while data from the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan showed net sales of 22 tonnes in the first quarter this year.
The National Bank of Poland continued purchasing gold, turning out to be the biggest buyer. It bought 11 tonnes. The Polish bank has been aggressively expanding its gold reserves for several years. It has been a consistent net purchaser of gold for over three years now. The National Bank of Poland has significantly accelerated the buying pace in the past 12 to 18 months. It is now the world’s leading central bank gold buyer.
China buys for 17th month in a row
Another consistent buyer of gold, the People’s Bank of China continued its gold buying spree for the 17th month in a row. In March, it picked up 5 tonnes. Among others, the Central Bank of Uzbekistan bought 9 tonnes, and the National Bank of Kazakhstan 6 tonnes.
Joining the top buyers of the yellow metal in March were Guatemala and the Czech Republic, which bought two tonnes each.
Turkey sold part of its gold reserves (60 tonnes) for foreign exchange and liquidity purposes. Ankara has so far sold 79 tonnes of gold from its reserves. In addition, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkiye swapped 80 tonnes of gold to manage liquidity.
Experts said that, unlike other central banks that hold gold as a long-term passive reserve, the Turkish central bank uses gold as an active macro-financial buffer.
Russia sold 6 tonnes of gold, mainly since it relies on the precious metal to cover its Budget deficits. Analysts said selling gold provided a solution to inject liquidity into the economy.
Sales not surprising
Central banks turning net sellers should not be surprising, as countries such as Turkey, Russia, Poland, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan, to defend their currencies, manage budget deficits, rebalance investment portfolios and tackle domestic inflation.
After soaring to a record high of $5,608 an ounce on January 29, gold has dropped over 15 per cent to around $4,675 an ounce currently. The precious metal, which has been rallying since 2024, is up over 7 per cent this year, despite shedding its gain.
As of March 31, Poland was the top buyer this year, purchasing 31 tonnes, followed by Uzbekistan (25 tonnes), Kazakhstan (13 tonnes) and China (7 tonnes), said Salim.
Central banks of the Czech Republic, Malaysia, Guatemala, Kyrgyz Republic, Cambodia, Indonesia and Serbia have also been net buyers.
Gold has rallied since 2024 due to hopes of interest rate cuts by banks, geopolitical crisis, trade disputes between the US and others, particularly China, and being seen as a strategic investment asset.
However, it has headed south since the Iran war broke out, as investors fear of inflation, slack economic growth and soaring crude oil prices that have led to investors’ shift to the fossil fuel complex.