China’s central bank did not buy any gold in September – Commerzbank

China’s central bank (PBoC) reported gold reserves unchanged at 72.8 million ounces (2,264 tons) at the end of September, notes Carsten Fritsch, commodities analyst at Commerzbank.

Central bank purchases will remain a key driver of gold demand

“This means the PBoC has not bought any gold for five consecutive months. In the first four months of the year, the PBoC bought 29 tonnes of gold, with only small purchases made in April. By comparison, a total of 225 tonnes were purchased last year.”

“Even without major contributions from China’s central bank, central bank gold purchases in the first half of the year totaled 483 tonnes, according to the World Gold Council, as central banks in other countries, such as India, Turkey and Poland, you continued to buy large quantities of gold.”

“Furthermore, a significant portion of the purchases could not be attributed to a specific central bank. Therefore, central bank purchases are likely to remain a key driver of gold demand this year, even without major purchases from the PBoC.”