Another Year, Another Massive Pile of Physical Gold Acquired by National Banks
The comments below are an edited and abridged synopsis of an article by The Daily Coin
In 2018, we saw the largest movement of physical gold in more than 50 years, with 656.2 tonnes acquired. Last year was only slightly lower (650.3 tonnes) and came in just shy of the record set in 2018. National banks around the world are scooping up physical gold unlike anything in modern history.
The end of the decade—2019—marks a decided shift in how national banks see gold. From 2000 to 2009, national banks were net sellers of gold, while from 2010 to 2019 national banks added more than 5,000 tonnes of physical for an average of 500 tonnes per year for an entire decade. We may see a repeat of this over the next ten years.
What lies ahead in 2020 and beyond? What we can say with certainty is this year, the beginning of a new decade, is starting out on shaky ground. Trade wars, shootings, pandemics and, later this year, a presidential election in the US. Don’t be surprised if gold acquisitions are higher in 2020 than they were in 2018.
People are growing uneasy about what is happening. National banks around the world are simply ahead of the curve. These are merely the first small sparks fueling the new paradigm that is beginning to unfold.