Russia and Kazakhstan expanded their
gold reserves for an eighth straight month in May, buying the
metal to diversify assets even as investors lost faith in
bullion amid the outlook for reduced stimulus.
Russian holdings, the seventh-largest by country, climbed
6.2 metric tons to 996.2 tons, taking gains this year to 4
percent after expanding by 8.5 percent in 2012, International
Monetary Fund data show. Kazakhstan’s hoard grew 4 tons to 129.5
tons, taking the increase to 12 percent this year after a 41
percent expansion in 2012, data on the website showed.
Gold fell 6 percent in May, extending a 7.6 percent drop in
April when the metal entered a bear market. Prices are down 24
percent this year and plunged last week to the lowest level
since September 2010 after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S.
Bernanke said the central bank may slow its bond-buying program
if the U.S. economy continues to improve.
“It’s really encouraging to see central banks continue to
view current price levels as attractive,” Victor Thianpiriya,
an analyst at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ), said
by phone in Singapore. “That’s going to be one of the
underpinning things for gold in the long term.”
Gold for immediate delivery traded at $1,279.60 an ounce at
3:45 p.m. in Singapore. Bullion is heading for its biggest
annual drop since 1981 after advancing for 12 years. Continued
central bank buying will not be sufficient to offset the decline
in prices, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a June 23 report.
Turkey’s holdings rose 18.2 tons to 445.3 tons in May,
increasing for an 11th month as it accepted gold in its reserve
requirements from commercial banks. Azerbaijan and Kyrgyz
Republic were among nations that bought bullion in May, while
Brunei and Nepal added gold in April, according to the IMF data,
which update as countries report.
Mexico cut its gold reserves for a 13th month while Czech
Republic also reduced holdings, the data showed.
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