Global demand for gold in 2022 reached the highest level since 2011, driven by record purchases by central banks, which more than double in a yearaccording to a report by the World Gold Council published on Tuesday.
Gold demand for the full year 2022 reached 4,740.7 tonnes, 18% more than in 2021, driven by a strong fourth quarter.
“The big surprise of the year was obviously the record demand from central banks, which reached the highest level in the last 55 years, having generated purchases of more than 800 tons in the second half of the year alone,” the Council said. World Gold Council (WGC) analyst Louise Street, in statements to the AFP agency.
During the last year, the demand for gold by these institutions more than doubled, reaching 1,135.7 tons, compared to 450.1 the previous year.
As the WGC analyst explains, gold is highly valued by central banksthose who use it “as a long-term store of value”, mainly because it behaves well in times of crisis, serving as a bulwark against inflation.
Gold bar and coin purchases continued into 2022 and continued to attract investors in various countries, offsetting weak demand from China. In total, investments in bars and coins totaled 1,217.1 tons in 2022, compared to 1,190.9 in 2021.
The jewelery and technology sectors, for their part, registered a slight fall in demand, falling by 2% and 7% respectively last year (2,189.8 t in the case of jewelery and 308.5 t in that of technology).
The slowdown in demand in the technology sector is mainly explained by the persistence of problems in the supply chain since the Covid-19 pandemic, with the global economic slowdown also weighing on consumer demand.
Regarding gold jewelry, the markets of India and China play a central role. Traditionally, families take advantage of weddings and other celebrations to convert part of their savings into gold bars, necklaces, rings, bracelets and other objects, the safe haven par excellence.
However, until December, China maintained a very strict health policy, called “covid-zero”, which imposed, in particular, widespread detection tests, strict monitoring of movements, and also mandatory lockdowns and quarantines as soon as they were detected. new cases. discovered. The abandonment of this policy triggered a sharp increase in covid cases.
The result was a 15% drop in demand for jewelry in China and a 24% drop in investment in gold and coins.
Source: Observadora
