Central banks are expected to be net buyers of gold next year for the first time in nearly two decades, the World Gold Council said yesterday
LONDON — Central banks are expected to be net buyers of gold next year for the first time in nearly two decades, the World Gold Council said yesterday.
“For next year, we will probably see a scenario where central banks are net buyers (of gold) for the first time in something like 17 years,” Marcus Grubb, the council’s MD for investment, told delegates at the World Gold Investment Congress in London.
He said central banks had been net buyers of 7,7 tons of gold in the second quarter of this year. Before last year, they were net sellers of an average of 400 tons a year.
Gold hit a record high above 1360/oz yesterday, driven by weakness in the dollar, which stemmed from expectations the Federal Reserve would keep US interest rates low. It eased back to 1336,40 later. The price has risen more than 20% so far this year, supported in part by central bank moves to become aggregate buyers of gold. Reuters
