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Gold Hits Record High: 30 Countries That Have the Largest Gold Reserves
Ali Hassan
9 min read

In This Article:

In this article, we will look at 30 countries that have the largest gold reserves. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, head straight to 10 Countries that Have the Largest Gold Reserves.

Gold Hits Record High

Gold hit a record high after the precious metal scaled to $2,100 per ounce on March 5. The “safe-haven” asset further escalated to $2,141.59 per ounce, surpassing the previous record of $2,135 in December 2023. The rally sky-rocketed following rising bets for the US Fed expected to cut interest rates in June 2024 and on safe-haven demand due to escalation in the Middle East conflict. With increasing speculations of rate cuts, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the interest rates will start to come down this year, but he is not ready yet to predict the exact timing. On March 6, during congressionally mandated appearances on Capitol Hill, Powell said policymakers remain attentive to the risks that inflation poses and do not want to ease up too quickly. He further added:

“In considering any adjustments to the target range for the policy rate, we will carefully assess the incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks. The Committee does not expect that it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent.”

Gold has recorded a surge in its price for being a safe-haven asset. The precious metal is primarily used as the most reliable investment in securing assets during political and financial uncertainty. The price of gold has increased by over $300 per ounce since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war. Some analysts believe that the gold price could surge past the $2,300 mark. On March 5, The Guardian reported that a senior analyst at ActivTrades, Ricardo Evangelista, said that the increasing concerns regarding the global economic outlook, geopolitical tensions, and changing expectations towards interest rate cuts have sparked the demand for gold, leading to an increase in its price. The chief investment officer at Charles Stanley, Patrick Farrell, pointed out that gold prices would probably soon peak. Here is what Farrell said: 

“It has been a grim year for many commodities. A confluence of weakening economic growth, particularly from China, plus an adjustment after some post-pandemic exuberance, has seen the prices for energy, industrial metals, and ‘energy transition’ commodities such as copper and nickel drop.”

Unlike fiat currencies, gold retains its value against all the odds in the market including inflation and other market tensions. Gold’s nature against inflationary pressures makes it the best hedge against inflation, especially in countries that have the largest gold reserves. The World Gold Council’s gold demand trends from the third quarter of 2023 showed the central bank’s historic pace of buying the precious metal. The gold demand was 8% ahead of its five-year average at 1,147 tonnes in Q3 2023, excluding OTC. The total demand for gold was up by 6% year-over-year at 1,267 tonnes including OTC and stock flows. The net central bank buying was reported around 337 tonnes, which was the third strongest quarter in the World Gold Council's data series. However, the net central bank buying failed to reach the staggering 459 tonnes figure from Q3 2022. Still, the demand for gold buying from central banks year-to-date is 14% ahead of the same period in 2022, at a record 800 tonnes. In addition, the Q3 2023 investment demand was 157 tonnes, almost 56% higher year-over-year. 

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