Gold purchases by central banks in 2022 hit an all-time high, according to an updated study by the World Gold Council.
Last week, the WGC released its latest Gold Demand Trends, which reported that central banks bought 1,136 tonnes of gold last year. Of these, more than 800 tonnes were purchased in the second half of the year, with central banks purchasing 417 tonnes in the last three months of 2022.
At the time, the WGC said that central bank's accumulation of gold was the second stronger year on record.
However, on Tuesday, the WGC amended its report, saying that last year's purchases were a new record.
Despite last year's record gold purchases, the World Gold Council believes that central banks will continue to be net buyers of gold in the near future, even if the pace slows down from 2022 levels.
Juan Carlos Artigas, Global Head of Research at the World Gold Council, said the central bank purchases highlight the fact that gold remains a very important asset in the monetary system. And despite the fact that gold no longer supports currencies, it is still used. Why? Because it is a real asset.
"We've made a correction to some historical data released with Gold Demand Trends. We originally reported that central bank buying in 2022 was the highest in 55 years. Following a correction to data from 1950-1969, we confirm it was a record year for central bank demand," the World Gold Council said in a tweet.
