Net gold purchases by central banks totalled 35.8 t in May, 27% lower month-on-month, but net purchases in the year to date, at 247.3 t, are 73% higher year-on-year, the World Gold Council (WGC) reports. WGC market intelligence director Alistair Hewitt on Monday pointed out that central banks in several emerging market, including Russia, China, Turkey and Kazakhstan, continued to dominate buying, with those banks being “the four biggest buyers so far” this year.
