OUR gold hitting record highs seen in 2020 again amid increased concerns about the financial crisis. US regional banks and the possibility of a hasty reduction interest rates from Federal Reserve guides investors to safety. At the same time, demand from China is growing rapidly, accelerating the rise in prices for the precious metal that began in November due to massive purchases of metal from central banks around the world and especially from countries outside the so-called Western camp.

Central banks bought a total of 1,087 tons of gold during the past year, according to the World Gold Council. In particular, non-Western central banks have turned to massive purchases of the metal to limit their reliance on the US dollar as Washington weaponizes the US currency’s global dominance. In the second half of last year, large-scale purchases of 500 to 580 tons of gold were recorded by unidentified buyers who did not report their purchases to the IMF.

Thus, it is assumed that it was about the departments of China, Russia and some countries of the Middle East. Large-scale purchases continued in the first quarter of this year, when they reached a record 228 tons of gold. Again, 120 tons of these purchases were from unknown buyers, but significantly less compared to the corresponding purchases in the second half of last year. However, since the beginning of the second quarter, they began to decline, but, according to market analysts, the demand for the precious metal remains at a high level.

Gold is hovering around $2,045.80 an ounce, down slightly from the $2,072 an ounce it soared to on Thursday when it was revealed PacWest was looking for a buyer.

Its rally began to accelerate from March as US Treasury yields began to fall and US talks to raise the superpower’s borrowing limit stalled again. As such, gold is hovering around $2,045.80 an ounce, down slightly from the $2,072 an ounce it skyrocketed to on Thursday as news broke that another bank, PacWest, by comparison, was looking for a buyer. In addition, gold rose by 3% over the week. According to John Reid, a market analyst at the World Gold Council, if investors see the banking crisis deepening and concerns about the possibility of a quick Fed rate cut intensifying, then the price of gold will continue to move higher. In an interview with the Financial Times, he even pointed out that “there are factors pushing the price of gold both in one direction and in the other, but so far we are seeing extensive investment in the precious metal.”

However, the recent surge in the price of gold has limited demand, and at this moment massive sales of the metal are recorded, especially in India, where investors in the precious metal are directly dependent on fluctuations in its price. In India, an equally important market for gold as China, sales of gold jewelry in the first quarter fell by 17% compared to the same period last year, according to the latest data.