According to the latest World Gold Council (WGC) quarterly demand trends report published on Thursday, the global central banks stepped up their gold purchases to the highest since 1967, which in turn pushed up the metal prices by 4% last year.
Key Findings (courtesy Reuters):
“The world consumed 4,345.1 tonnes of gold in 2018, up from 4,159.9 tonnes in 2017.
Driving the increase were central banks which bought 651.5 tonnes – 74 percent more than in 2017 and the second highest annual total on record – as countries including China and Poland joined Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan in adding to their reserves.
Jewelry demand was relatively unchanged at 2,200 tonnes, with rising consumption in China, the United States and Russia offsetting a steep decline in the Middle East and a very slight fall in India.
Retail investment in gold bars and coins grew 4 percent to 1,090.2 tonnes – helped by a sharp 222-percent rise in demand in Iran to almost 62 tonnes
Interest from financial investors was lacklustre, with exchange-traded funds adding 68.9 tonnes to their holdings over the year, down 67 percent from 2017.
Global supply of gold grew by 1 percent to 4,490.2 tonnes last year.”
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