China’s central bank has been on a buying spree that has so far spanning six months. In April, the bank added an additional 8.09 tons of gold to its reserves, now topping 2,076.47 tons.
As a reference, that much gold is the equivalent to 8,090 kilo gold bars.
During the first quarter of the year reserves at central banks increased by a whopping 228.4 tons as backlash against the dollar continues.
Announcements are expected during the upcoming BRICS summit this summer regarding the formation of a new basket currency.
There’s been lots of rumor and speculation with a few official leaks of small bits of information.
Here’s a few things that we know:
- A new basket currency is being created that will be a combination of five currencies: Chinese RMB Yuan, the Russian Ruble, the Indian Rupee, the Brazilian Real and the South African Rand.
- This new basket currency will be an alternative to the IMF’s Special Drawing Right.
- Pavel Knyazev, Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Foreign Policy Planning Department stated that member states are “actively studying mechanisms” to exchange financial information to develop a reliable alternative for international payments.
Recent central bank gold holdings by BRICS members:
- Brazil: CEIC Data reports that Brazil is currently holding 7,602 tons, down from 8,036 tons reported in January. A significant drop 434 tons. Speculation is that some of this gold may have gone to China in exchange for yuan currency to hold in its reserves following the recent local currency trade agreement.
- Russia: Trending Economics reports that Russia’s reserves are currently at 2326.52 tons, up from 2298.53, currently the highest ever reported by the country. Last year’s sanctions placed by the Biden Admin included Russia being booted from the LBMA. Some of the gold that would’ve been sold at the market exchange likely ended up being stacked in the country’s reserves. Additionally, Russia responded to the sanctions by exchanging gold for rubles within Russia, helping to keep the economy prosperous.
- India: Recent news reports show that RBI added 34.22 metric tonnes of gold in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2023, taking the total gold reserves up to 794.64 metric tonnes.
- China: According to the World Gold Council, the PBoC reports that as of April they have added a whopping 120 tons since November 2022. The most recent reports show 2,076.47 metric tons in holding.
- South Africa: Trending Economics reports the country’s reserves include only 125.38 tonnes, significantly less than the others in the group. However, South Africa is also a major gold producer with annual mining exports topping 110 tonnes in 2022.
