Central Banks Buy $47,377,203,440 of Gold In Three Months As JPMorgan Chase Forecasts Nearly 30% Price Increase

Central banks around the world are snapping up record volumes of gold amid the price volatility experienced by the yellow metal over the past couple of months.

The World Gold Council says net purchases reached 289 tonnes in the second quarter of this year, a figure whose monetary value is currently equivalent to approximately $47.38 billion.

Poland led buyers with 51 tonnes while China added 33 tonnes in the second quarter.

Gold purchases during the first half of this year totaled 345 tonnes, with nearly all the increase occurring in the second quarter.

The buying took place while gold prices dropped roughly 14 percent from January highs creating an accumulation window for official institutions.

Western ETF investors reduced holdings during the same period.

The People’s Bank of China continued purchases into July with nearly 20 tonnes added amid the pullback in the price of gold which rose to an all-time high of around $5,500 before pulling back by about 30%.

Central banks have signaled plans to keep buying over the next 12 months, providing support that coincided with a price surge in August.

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