Central bank gold holdings are at a 50‑year high. What’s behind the jump in reserves?

By Luke Hartigan – The Conversation

Over the past few years, central banks have been quietly buying up significant quantities of gold.

As the trend has accelerated, official agencies now hold the highest quantity of gold since 1975 – more than 36,000 tonnes of the precious metal.

Central bank buying of gold picked up after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The World Gold Council says central banks have bought an average of 1,000 tonnes a year over the past four years – double the average of the previous decade. It’s one factor behind the surge in the gold price last year.