In the summer of 2015, the People’s Bank of China began sharing its gold purchasing activity on a monthly basis for the first time since 2009. Although China comes in sixth for most gold held, the yellow metal accounts for only a small percentage of its overall reserves – a mere 2.8 percent – the lowest of the top 10 central banks with the most gold. China has actually been on a gold-buying spree since December 2018 – buying almost 100 tonnes from then through August.
5. Russia
Tonnes: 2,219.2
Percent of foreign reserves: 19.6 percent
The Russian Central Bank has been the largest buyer of gold for the past seven years and overtook China in 2018 to have the fifth-largest reserves. In 2017 Russia bought 224 tonnes of bullion in an effort to diversify away from the U.S. dollar, as its relationship with the West has grown chilly since the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in mid-2014. To raise the cash for these purchases, Russia sold a huge percentage of its U.S. Treasuries.
4. France
Tonnes: 2,436.1
Percent of foreign reserves: 60.8 percent
France’s central bank has sold little of its gold over the past several years, and there are calls to halt it altogether. Marine Le Pen, president of the country’s far-right National Front party, has led the charge not only to put a freeze on selling the nation’s gold but also to repatriate the entire amount from foreign vaults.
3. Italy
Tonnes: 2,451.8
Percent of foreign reserves: 67.4 percent
Italy has likewise maintained the size of its reserves over the years, and it has support from European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi. The former Bank of Italy governor, when asked by a reporter in 2013 what role gold plays in a central bank’s portfolio, answered that the metal was “a reserve of safety,” adding, “it gives you a fairly good protection against fluctuations against the dollar.”
2. Germany
Tonnes: 3,366.8
Percent of foreign reserves: 71.9 percent
In 2017 Germany completed a four-year repatriation operation to move a total of 674 tonnes of gold from the Banque de France and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York back to its own vaults. First announced in 2013, the move was expected to take until 2020 to complete. Although gold demand fell in 2017 after hitting an all-time high in 2016, this European country has seen gold investing steadily rise since the global financial crisis.
1. United States
Tonnes: 8,133.5
Percent of foreign reserves: 76.0 percent
With the largest official holdings in the world, the U.S. lays claim to nearly as much gold as the next three countries combined. It also has the highest gold allocation as a percentage of its foreign reserves at 76 percent. From what we know, the majority of U.S. gold is held at Fort Knox in Kentucky, with the remainder held at the Philadelphia Mint, Denver Mint, San Francisco Assay Office and West Point Bullion Depository. Which state loves gold the most? Well, the state of Texas went so far as to create its very own Texas Bullion Depository to safeguard investors’ gold.
For more market trends, visit ETF Trends.