Uzbekistan became the world leader in gold sales in February

In February, Uzbekistan took first place in gold sales in the world, the correspondent of “Gazeta.uz” reports, citing to the World Gold Council.

According to public data, global central bank gold reserves rose by 19 tons in February. But the volume of precious metal purchases was 58% lower than in January (45 tons). On a year-on-year basis, central banks reported a 64-tonne increase in gold reserves for January and February, down 43% from the same period in 2023 but four times higher than in 2022.

The People’s Bank of China was the biggest buyer this month, increasing its gold reserves by 12 tons to 2,257 tons. Taking into account February, the PBOC’s gold reserves have grown for 16 months in a row, although the share of gold in total reserves remains at around 4%.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan increased its gold reserves by 6 tons in February, and India acquired the same amount (total reserves: 817 tons).

Data from the National Bank of Kyrgyzsatan showed its gold reserves rose by more than 1 ton in February, with net purchases since the start of the year at 2 tons. Total gold reserves are now estimated at almost 24 tons.

There were two major sellers in February. The Central Bank of Uzbekistan reduced its gold reserves by 12 tons over the month, and the Central Bank of Jordan by 4 tons.

In 2023, Uzbekistan became the second largest seller of gold in the world. Net sales of gold amounted to more than 25 tons, twice as low as Kazakhstan, which took first place.

According to the Statistics Agency, in February Uzbekistan sold gold worth $1.32 billion, which is 11.5% more than supplies in January-February 2023 ($1.18 billion).