Iraq ‘s economy boosts reserves of gold and Russia’s biggest buyers in the world
Twilight News – The amount of gold bought by central banks in 2018 hit record highs, according to a report by the World Gold Council (WGC), which said Russia was at the forefront of buyers.
During the past year, central banks bought the largest amount of precious metal since 1967, buying 651.5 tons, up 74 percent from 2017, buying 375 tonnes of gold, the report said.
“The growing geopolitical and economic uncertainty over 2018 has driven central banks increasingly to diversify their reserves and focus their attention on the main objective of investing in safe assets,” the report said.
He added that Russia in 2018 topped the countries in terms of gold purchases, as part of a strategy to reduce dependence on the dollar, as the central bank sold most of its investment in US Treasury bonds and purchase about 274 tons of precious metal.
Besides Russia, its gold reserves have strengthened countries including Turkey, Kazakhstan, India, Iraq, Poland and Hungary (Hungary).
Russia ranks 5th in the world with gold reserves, saving 2113 tons, while the United States ranks first in the world, followed by Germany, Italy and France.
Keywords: Shafaaq.com