Amidst the geo-political crisis around the world, central banks of various countries are increasing their gold purchases. In the first six months of the current calendar year, the prices of gold and silver witnessed a spectacular rise. The reason behind this was the increase in purchase of gold by various central banks and institutional investors. RBI has been the leader in accumulating the highest gold reserves. Central banks of various countries have bought a total of 483 tonnes of gold in the first six months of this year. Which is 5 percent more than 460 tonnes purchased in the same period last year. Forbes recently released the list of gold reserves held by various countries in the first two quarters of 2024. In which India ranks eighth with 9.57 percent holding (840.76 tons) of the world. America is first with 72.41 percent holding.

Reasons behind increase in gold reserves:
The first six months of the current calendar year saw an increase in geo-political crises around the world. On the other hand, the dollar weakened on expectations of a cut in interest rates by the Fed. Whenever an economic crisis occurs, various countries buy more gold to hedge against losses. So they can reduce their loss through hedging during crisis. In the second quarter (April-June) of this year, central banks around the world bought 183 tonnes of gold. Which is 6 percent more than last year. However, purchases fell by 39 percent compared to 300 tonnes in the first quarter. RBI bought 19 tonnes of gold in the second quarter. Both central banks have been on top with the National Bank of Poland also buying 19 tonnes of gold. The Central Bank of Turkey came third with 15 tonnes of gold purchases. Central banks in Jordan, Qatar, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq and the Czech Republic have also increased gold purchases.