The upward trend in gold demand continues this year, with central banks increasing their total reserves by 16% month-on-month, or 31 tons in January. According to a related report by the World Gold Council, although demand in the first month reaches levels of 20 to 60 tons, which have been recorded for ten consecutive months, it is noteworthy that it was actually concentrated in three central banks.

In particular, they bought more than 44 tons of gold in total, and sold almost 13 tons. The “champion” in terms of demand was the central bank of Turkey, which increased its reserves by 23 tons in January. Its reserves are now at a record level for the country of 565 tons of gold. Next with purchases of 15 tons is China’s central bank, which bought another 62 tons in November and December last year. In total, its reserves are 2025 tons. On Tuesday, the Central Bank of Kazakhstan entered the January markets, increasing reserves by 4 tons, to a total of 356 tons.

It is noted that in the EU. January stocks recorded an increase of 2 t, but this happened indirectly. In particular, with the entry of Croatia into the eurozone, the country had to transfer its gold to the ECB. The Central Bank of Uzbekistan was the only one selling gold, reducing its reserves by 3% every month. At the moment, they amount to 384 tons, i.e. 66% of its total reserves.

Turkey leads the markets with 23 tons of gold – its reserves are now at a record level for the country at 565 tons of gold.

Interest in the gold market has been high in recent months, with central banks recording record buying in 2022, the World Gold Council notes. In fact, this momentum is expected to continue:

“Looking ahead, we see no reason to end the bullish stance of central banks on gold, and we believe that they will continue to buy gold until 2023. However, it is difficult to estimate the exact amount, as evidenced by our estimates for early 2022. “Of course, it is also reasonable to believe that demand from central banks in 2023 will be difficult to reach last year’s levels,” the World Gold Council notes, also stressing that January results are trending in this direction.

Gold plays an important role in the Turkish economy and, according to the World Gold Council, has been closely linked to the daily life of the country since gold coins were used by merchants in ancient Lydia. Turkey’s demand for gold reflects a deep cultural heritage and plays an important role in weddings and other aspects of religious life. In the jewelry market, gold is both a medium of exchange and a unit of account.

For example, at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, the heart of the Turkish gold market, payments are often made in correspondence with gold. Hence, according to the World Gold Council, there are strong financial incentives to own the precious metal. Entire generations of Turks turned to him to insure against inflationary fluctuations and currency depreciation.