The World Gold Council has released its Central Bank Gold Statistics for December 2024, revealing key trends in gold purchasing and selling activities among central banks worldwide.

Poland emerged as the top gold importer in 2024, adding 90 tonnes to its reserves. Turkey followed closely with 75 tonnes, while India secured third place with 73 tonnes.

Despite strong annual purchases, December saw a net selling of 3 tonnes, based on data from the International Monetary Fund and other public sources. Monthly gross purchases totaled 13 tonnes, but these were offset by gross sales of 16 tonnes, signaling a temporary dip in demand.

Krishan Gopaul and Marissa Salim, authors of the Gold Focus blog, cautioned against drawing definitive conclusions from the December data, citing two reasons:

1. Potential lagged data updates for December could affect the monthly totals.
2. Early data for January 2025 indicates modest but healthy gold purchases by central banks.

Notably, the People’s Bank of China stood out as the largest net buyer in December, adding 10 tonnes to its reserves. The Czech National Bank and Bank of Ghana each recorded a tonne of net purchases.

Conversely, the National Bank of Kazakhstan was the biggest seller, offloading 11 tonnes during the month.

The report underscores the dynamic nature of central bank gold activity and highlights the continued strategic role of gold in reserve management.