Central banks globally are once again fleeing towards safe haven assets like precious metals, with the U.S. and Russia leading the pack.
U.S., also the world leader by gold reserves, added 92.23 tons between March and December 2020 to reach 9,057.38 tons, according to data compiled by «finbold.com».
Russia, sixth by reserves, ranked second in gold accumulation, adding 65.51 tons to 2,569.72 tons.
Rounding out the top five reserve holders were Germany in second place (3,703.74 tons) followed by the International Monetary Fund (3,100.38 tons), Italy (2,701.63 tons) and France (2,684.22 tons).
Golden Future Unassured
«From the data, leading gold holders increased their reserves to act as a cushion during the coronavirus pandemic crisis,» according to «finbold.com». «The wide-scale lockdowns led to the closure of many economies as people remained at home. The stock market crashed to historical lows leaving central banks to accumulate more gold as an alternative source of wealth.»
But despite the precious metals' traditional characteristics – improving creditworthiness, counter-inflationary value and preventing economic crisis – questions remain about its traditionally safe reputation.
«Despite central banks turning to gold as a haven, there have been concerns about the precious metal. In the course of the pandemic, gold prices fell, especially during heavy risk-off sessions,» «finbold.com» added. «This prompted worries among economists about gold’s haven status. Many still don’t understand why it lost value in the course of economic turmoil.»
