Gold’s 2024 Rally: Mapping central banks’ demand for the precious metal in 2024

As gold topped $2,500 per troy ounce for the first time in history this August, it pushed the price of the large, 400-ounce gold bars to $1 million. The expectations for rate cuts by the Fed, however, helped propel the price to new record highs last week despite the decision of China’s Central Bank to curb its buying for the second month in a row.

Driven by the economic and geopolitical uncertainty of the past few years, the price of the precious metal has been largely on the rise, with just one notable dip in the summer of 2022. Beyond the increased demand for safe-haven assets, there has been a surge in Chinese interest in bullion over the past year and a half, and central banks have been increasing their reserves of the low-credit-risk, highly liquid commodity. This prompted the team at BestBrokers to track nations’ gold purchases since the beginning of the year and see who has been building their reserves and who has been benefitting from the rise in gold prices.

We analysed monthly and quarterly data on central banks’ gold reserves from the World Gold Council and identified the countries that bought the most gold since December last year. We singled out the countries that eliminated the most gold from their reserves in the past six months. Using the most recent data, we also calculated nations’ current gold holdings per capita.

Countries building their gold reserves in 2024

Last year, the demand for gold was led by China’s Central Bank, which, within twelve months, increased its gold reserves by 224.9 tonnes. This buying spree was preceded by the purchase of 62.2 tonnes of gold in 2022 but this year, the bank gradually slowed down its investment in gold with only 10 tonnes in January, 12.1 tonnes in February, and 5 tonnes in March. Following April’s investment in another 1.9 tonnes, the central bank discontinued its gold purchases, with its reserves currently standing at 2,264.32 tonnes.

During the first half of 2024, China’s central bank acquired a total of 28.93 tonnes of gold, putting it third in terms of gold demand after Turkey and India. The most significant increase in gold reserves between January and June of this year can be seen in Turkey. The country’s central bank bought a total of 44.74 tonnes during the first half of the year, with June being the 13th month in a row of buying.

India is also building its gold reserves at a relatively fast pace this year, adding 37.18 tonnes within the first six months of 2024. In comparison, its central bank acquired only 16.22 tonnes of gold in the entire 2023, while for 2022, its purchases totalled 33.27 tonnes. Currently, it holds 840.76 tonnes of the precious metal in its official reserves.

Poland continues its buying spree this year, although not as frantically as in 2023 when it added more than 130 tonnes of gold to its reserves. Following several months of inactivity, it started acquiring gold in April with a purchase of 4.66 tonnes. Another 10.3 tonnes were added in May, followed by 3.7 tonnes in June.

Other central banks that have been buying gold over the past six months include those of the Czech Republic (10.81 tonnes), Iraq (5.72 tonnes), Qatar (5.47 tonnes), Kazakhstan (4.56 tonnes), Oman (4.37 tonnes), and Kyrgyzstan (4.27 tonnes). The Russian Federation also added 3.11 tonnes of gold to its reserves, while the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) increased its reserves by 3 tonnes.

Azerbaijan’s central bank does not report having any gold reserves but SOFAZ, a sovereign wealth fund, which accumulates and manages the oil and gas revenues of the country, started adding gold to its investment portfolio back in 2012. It now owns 104.8 tonnes of gold, which is roughly 13.2% of its reserves.

Countries with a drop in gold reserves in 2024

While some nations focus on increasing their reserves of gold due to its liquidity and the fact that it provides excellent long-term storage of value (it is not only rare but also physically indestructible), others produce and sell the precious metal. A good example is the Philippines, which buys locally mined gold, supporting the significant community of small-scale miners in the country. The central bank is required by law to purchase the gold from these individuals and it pays for the gold purchases in the local currency, peso. Last year, the country’s gold reserves increased by 1.33 tonnes, but since January, the central bank has sold nearly 25 tonnes, bringing its current gold holdings down to 134.06 tonnes.

Thailand’s officially reported gold reserves also fell in 2024, despite news articles describing a months-long gold rush that allegedly saw the central bank purchasing gold on a regular basis. According to the official figures, reported to the International Monetary Fund and the World Gold Council, however, there have not been any changes to Thailand’s gold holdings since May 2021 when they increased by 46.65 million tonnes. Then, in March 2024, the gold reserves shrank by 9.64 tonnes.

Another country with a significant drop in its gold reserves is Uzbekistan, which after the sale of 6.22 tonnes of the metal since January, now owns 365.15 tonnes. Last year, the central bank decreased its gold holdings by roughly 24.6 tonnes. It is still one of the countries with the largest reserves, however, and currently ranks 15th in the world.

Central banks with the largest gold reserves as of June 2024

Although the United States has not purchased any gold since January 2006, it still has the largest gold reserves in the world. As of August 2024, the U.S. owns 8133.46 tonnes, which is roughly 72.41% of its total foreign reserve, based on prices at the time of reporting (June 2024). The price of gold, however, increased significantly in August, reaching an all-time high of 2,531.70 per troy ounce on August 20. Calculated at an August 26 price of 2,514.30, the U.S. gold reserve is valued at $657.48 billion.

Most of the U.S. gold is kept in deep storage in three facilities according to the U.S. Treasury. Its data shows that the United States Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, KY stores 147.34 million ounces of gold, followed by the West Point, NY, location with 54.01 million ounces, and Denver, CO with 43.85 million ounces. All this is in the form of gold bars and is kept by the U.S. Mint. The Federal Reserve Bank also holds gold, both in coins and bullion, in its New York Vault, as well as across banks for displaying purposes.

The other countries with impressive gold depositories, save for China, which holds roughly 2,264.3 tonnes of gold, are European. Germany ranks second (3,351.53 tonnes) globally for gold holdings, followed by Italy (2451.84 tonnes), France (2436.96 tonnes), and Russia (2335.85 tonnes), while China comes in sixth position.

Nations’ gold reserves per capita as of June 2024

Several central banks hold the largest gold reserves in the world and their position has not changed much over the past decade or so. It is interesting, however, to see which nations have the most gold relative to their population. We calculated the gold reserves per capita for the 104 countries, for which the World Gold Council has data, using official population figures for 2024 (these are estimates, of course) and the most current central banks’ data. For most nations, gold holdings records are available as of the end of the second quarter (June 2024), but for others, data is from May or even earlier.

Based on this methodology, Switzerland emerges as the nation with the most gold per citizen. Its central bank currently owns 1,040.0 tonnes of the precious metal, which means that for every person of the 8,981,565 living there, it holds roughly 3.72 fine troy ounces of gold. This is 115.79 grams of gold, which at the current price is worth around $9,360. In terms of gold coins, Switzerland has 37 gold coins per citizen right now – that is if we take one of the small coins currently minted by most central banks. It contains 0.1000 gold troy ounces and weighs approximately 0.11 troy ounces (3.39 g).

Lebanon ranks second in this metric, holding 1.68 ounces of gold per citizen or 17 gold coins per capita, followed by Italy (1.34 oz per person) and Germany (1.27 oz per person), each owning around 13 gold coins per citizen. Other per-capita gold-rich nations include Singapore, Qatar, and Portugal with reserves equal to 12 gold coins per citizen, France and Netherlands with 11 gold coins for each person, and Austria, which has 10 gold coins per individual.

Who does not own any gold?

Interestingly, Canada is one of the largest gold-mining countries in the world but it does not have any gold reserves. Leading gold-mining companies such as Barrick Gold, Agnico Eagle, and Kinross hail from Canada. The central bank does not consider gold to be as liquid an asset as U.S. Treasury securities, for instance. In a 2019 speech, Timothy Lane, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, explained that having gold “doesn’t fit well within the asset-matching framework”. As the fourth-largest gold producer in the world, Canada mined 191.9 tonnes of gold in 2023 and did not keep a single ounce in its reserves.

Another country with practically no gold reserves is Norway. It used to have sizeable holdings of the precious metal but during World War II, when Nazi Germany invaded, the National Treasury of Norway was “evacuated” to the United Kingdom and then, to the United States. The treasury consisted of 50 tonnes of gold, which were transported via civilian lorries, trains, and ships. The gold was used to fund the government in exile and the Norwegian resistance; in 1987, ten tonnes of gold coins were brought back. In 2004, Norges Bank announced it would be selling all of its gold holdings. A total of seven gold bars and some gold coins were kept for exhibition purposes.

*Holdings except where indicated as of June 2024
*Figures rounded

Data Source:
– World Gold Council
– Trading Economics
– Wikipedia: List of countries and territories by total population
– U.S. Mint: American Eagle Coins
– International Monetary Fund

Methodology

To prepare this report, the team at BestBrokers used the most current data about official central banks’ gold reserves published by the World Gold Council. This is an international trade association for the gold industry, which collects gold holdings data from the International Monetary Fund, the Bank for International Settlements, central banks, and other sources. It should be noted, however, that certain countries are excluded from the database as they are known to have gold reserves but do not report it officially.

Another territory not to make it to our calculations is Curacao and Sint Maarten, which has 9.17 tonnes of gold as of April 2024. The WGC has combined data for the two Caribbean nations but they are separate constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is why we did not list them jointly.

For the per-capita gold reserve ranking, we used publicly available population estimates for 2024. We had to convert the tonnes of gold to troy ounces, so all calculations were based on a conversion rate of 32,150.70 ounces for 1 tonne. For the gold coins, we looked for a small coin and used the American Eagle Gold Proof Coin, 1/10 ounce as an example. It is a one-tenth-ounce coin with a $5 face value, which is 0.650 inches (16.50 mm) in diameter. The coin contains 0.1000 gold troy ounces and weighs 0.1091 troy ounces (3.393 g). It is minted in the United States but many other countries have similar coins.

Here are a few measurements and rates we used for the calculations:

• 1 tonne of gold = 32,150.70 gold troy ounces
• 1 tonne = 1,000,0000 grams
• 1 gold troy ounce = 10 coins (1/10 ounce gold coin)
• Spot gold, August 26 (opens) = $2,514.30 per troy ounce