Central banks have increased their gold purchases to a record level in 55 years

Bloomberg, citing data from the World Gold Council, wrote that the world's central banks have bought a record amount of gold (399 tons) in the third quarter since 1967. This is almost four times more than in the same period last year.

It is noted that gold bullion prices this year were affected by a sharp increase in rates by the US Federal Reserve. This has prompted exchange-traded fund investors to sell gold as an unprofitable asset. However, demand for the precious metal has been held back by retail buyers in Asia and central banks around the world.

Central banks in Turkey and Qatar were among the latest buyers, according to Bloomberg. But there were also unregistered purchases from institutions that accounted for a "significant" proportion of the total. For example, some countries, including Russia and China, do not regularly publish data on gold purchases.

With nearly 700 tonnes of gold purchases since the beginning of the year, most of it came in the third quarter of the year (399 tonnes) and less was purchased in the second quarter (186 tonnes). The lowest figure was recorded in the first quarter (88 tonnes).