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Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Central Banks Buy 20 Tonnes Of Gold In May, Says World Gold Council
Photo by michael norcia/Sygma via Getty Images Sygma via Getty Images Global central banks bought another 20 tonnes of gold in May as conflict erupted in the Middle East, the World Gold Council (WGC) announced on Wednesday. Total purchases were up from 12 tonnes in April, but lower than the 12-month average of 27 tonnes, data from the organization showed. The WGC commented that 'fresh tensions in the Middle East may have reinforced the strategic appeal of gold for central banks looking to safeguard reserves against geopolitical shocks.' Changes to central bank gold holdings since early 2022. World Gold Council Gold demand has risen sharply in recent years, driven by military actions in Europe and the Middle East, and concerns over the impact of fresh trade tariffs on global growth and inflation. Central bank buying has also risen as reserve managers have sought to diversify their holdings away from the US dollar and towards other paper currencies and gold bullion. Gold prices surged to all-time peaks just above $3,500 per ounce in late April before falling as profit taking set in and market confidence improved. It was last changing hands at $3,334.40, still up 43% year on year. Biggest Buyers The National Bank of Kazakhstan was the busiest bullion buyer in May, the WGC said. It added seven tonnes over the month to take its holdings to 299 tonnes. This raised total purchases in the year to date to 15 tonnes. The Central Bank of Turkey and National Bank of Poland (NBP) were tied in second place on the buyers' list, both institutions purchasing six tonnes. As a consequence, 'the NBP remains the largest net purchaser of gold in 2025, adding 67 tonnes,' the WGC said. Changes to central bank gold holdings this year. World Gold Council Both the People's Bank of China and Czech National Bank added two tonnes of gold in May. The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, National Bank of Cambodia, the Central Bank of the Philippines, and the Bank of Ghana each purchased one tonne of gold. Gold Sellers On the selling side, the Monetary Authority of Singapore offloaded the most gold – it emptied its vaults of five tonnes of the precious metal. Next up came the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Deutsche Bundesbank, which each sold one tonne of material in May. May's activity cements Uzbekistan as the largest seller so far in 2025, racking up 27 tonnes of gold sales. Singapore is in second place, with sales coming in at 10 tonnes. Rising Demand According to the WGC, central banks have bought 1,000 tonnes of gold annually during the last three years. That compares with between 400 and 500 tonnes during the preceding decade. A recent Council poll showed that officials plan to continue building their metal reserves, too. A whopping 95% of 72 respondents said they expect global central bank reserves to rise over the next 12 months. Furthermore, 43% of those tipped their own holdings to increase over the period. These numbers were up from 81% and 29% respectively in 2024, and represented all-time highs. The WGC also noted that '76% of respondents believe that gold will hold a (moderately or significantly) higher share of total reserves five years from now, up from 69% last year.'
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Can Bitcoin Benefit From Trump Firing Powell? Turkey's Lira Crisis May Provide Clues
The week has begun on an interesting note, with the U.S. dollar crashing to three-year lows alongside losses on Wall Street, yet bitcoin, which usually follows the sentiment on Wall Street, stands tall.[PLEASE CAN HAVE A PRICE HERE AND A QUANTIIFICATION - THE BTC PRICE ISN'T THAT TALL] This could just be the beginning. [BEGINNING OF WHAT] The shift away from the USD and toward seizure and censorship-resistant assets like BTC and stablecoins could accelerate if President Donald Trump follows through with his reported plans to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, which have pushed the DXY and U.S. stock markets lower today. That's the lesson from Turkey, which has seen its currency, the lira (TRY), collapse over the years mainly due to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's repeated interference in the central bank's operations. The sliding lira has triggered a capital flight into BTC and stablecoins since at least 2020-21. Trump has feuded publicly with the Federal Reserve and its chairman, Jerome Powell, for years, criticizing Powell for being too late on rate cuts even during his first term when interest rates were way lower than today. However, Trump's criticism has recently reached a fever pitch with reports suggesting he is looking for ways to get rid of Powell, who recently warned of stagflation even as the President reiterated calls for lower borrowing costs while suggesting there is no inflation. Powell's patient approach follows a trade war-led spike in survey-based measures of inflation expectations, which could always become self-fulfilling. Still, on Monday, Trump went further, calling Powell a "major loser" and warning that the economy could slow down unless interest rates are immediately lowered. Erdogan began interfering in the central bank's operations in 2019, and since then, the lira has collapsed sevenfold from 5.3 per dollar to 38 per dollar. It all started with Turkey's inflation rate reaching double digits in 2017. It remained elevated in the subsequent year, which prompted the country's central bank to increase the one-week repo rate from 17.5% to 24% in September 2018. The move likely didn't go well with Erodgan, who issued the first decree dismissing Central Bank of Turkey (CBT) governor Murat Cetinkaya in July 2019. From then on until the end of 2021, Erdogan issued multiple decrees dismissing and hiring several CBT officials. Amid all this, inflation remained elevated, and the lira continued to depreciate at an alarming rate. "We certainly don't believe in high interest rates. We will pull down inflation and exchange rates with low-rate policy … High rates make the rich richer, the poor poorer. We won't let that happen," Erdogan said in 2021. As of 2025, Turkey faces an inflation rate of nearly 40%, according to data source TradingEconomics. This episode serves as a cautionary tale for Trump, highlighting that tampering with central bank independence — especially in the face of looming inflation — can erode investor confidence and send the domestic currency into a tailspin. This does not necessarily mean that the USD will crash exactly like lira but may see significant devaluation. Perhaps it could prove even more destabilizing for global markets, considering the dollar is a global reserve currency, and the U.S. Treasury market is the bedrock for international finance. If better sense fails to prevail, U.S. investors may feel incentivized to move away from U.S. assets and into BTC and other alternative investments, just as Turks did.
See - Sada Elbalad
21-03-2025
- Business
- See - Sada Elbalad
Turkey's Central Bank Raises Overnight Rate to 46% in Surprise meeting
Taarek Refaat The Central Bank of Turkey raised its overnight lending rate to 46% from 44% during an extraordinary meeting, amid turmoil in Turkish markets and a record-low lira. The Central Bank said in a statement posted on its website that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) convened to exchange views on recent developments in financial markets and that, after assessing the risks these developments may pose to inflation expectations, measures were taken to support monetary policy tightening. The Central Bank also maintained the key repo rate for one week and the Central Bank's overnight borrowing rate at 42.5% and 41%, respectively. The Central Bank added in its statement that measures related to Turkish lira and foreign currency liquidity were taken to limit market volatility. The Turkish Central Bank said in a statement that additional measures will be taken to maintain the sound functioning of financial markets when necessary, and that monetary policy will be tightened if a significant and sustained decline in inflation is expected. Turkish public opinion was rocked yesterday by the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, which led to the Turkish lira falling to a new record low and the Istanbul Stock Exchange index losing 7% of its value. Today, the 1 United States Dollar equals 37.99 Turkish lira. read more CBE: Deposits in Local Currency Hit EGP 5.25 Trillion Morocco Plans to Spend $1 Billion to Mitigate Drought Effect Gov't Approves Final Version of State Ownership Policy Document Egypt's Economy Expected to Grow 5% by the end of 2022/23- Minister Qatar Agrees to Supply Germany with LNG for 15 Years Business Oil Prices Descend amid Anticipation of Additional US Strategic Petroleum Reserves Business Suez Canal Records $704 Million, Historically Highest Monthly Revenue Business Egypt's Stock Exchange Earns EGP 4.9 Billion on Tuesday Business Wheat delivery season commences on April 15 News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Lifestyle Pistachio and Raspberry Cheesecake Domes Recipe Videos & Features Bouchra Dahlab Crowned Miss Arab World 2025 .. Reem Ganzoury Wins Miss Arab Africa Title (VIDEO) News Ireland Replaces Former Israeli Embassy with Palestinian Museum News Israeli PM Diagnosed with Stage 3 Prostate Cancer Lifestyle Maguy Farah Reveals 2025 Expectations for Pisces News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple
