“According to the 2023 Central Bank Gold Reserve Survey released by the World Gold Council, 24% of central banks plan to further increase gold reserves in the next 12 months. Seventy-one percent of central banks surveyed believe the overall level of global reserves will increase in the next 12 months. That was a 10-point increase over last year.
But according to the Invesco survey, a “substantial share” of central banks expressed concern about how the US and other Western countries froze almost half of Russia’s $650 billion gold and forex reserves. As a result, 68% of the banks surveyed said they are keeping their gold reserve within their country’s borders. This was up from 50% in 2020.
One central bank official, who was quoted anonymously, said, ‘We did have it [gold] held in London… but now we’ve transferred it back to our country to hold as a safe haven asset and to keep it safe.’”
Analyst Comment: Nations are preparing for dedollarization and the potential rise of gold-backed currencies.