World Gold Council reveals Iraq as 7th largest buyer of gold in 2023
Gold bars and coins are stacked in the safe deposit boxes room of the Pro Aurum gold house in Munich, Germany. Photo: Reuters
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The World Gold Council revealed on Saturday that Iraq, Libya, and Qatar are among the top 10 largest Arab countries to buy gold in 2023.
Due to its status as a safe haven in times of geopolitical and economic instability, many countries are keeping up their gold reserves.
The amount of gold purchased by central banks fell to 1,037.4 tons in 2023 from 1,081.9 tons in 2022, although it is still the second-highest amount in almost 55 years.
With a total of 224.88 tons, the People’s Bank of China led the group of central banks that bought the most gold in 2023. Poland came in second with 130.3 tons, Singapore came in third with 76.51 tons, Libya came in fourth with 30.1 tons, the Czech Republic came in fifth with 18.71 tons, and India came in sixth with 16.22 tons.
With 12.25 tons of gold purchased by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) in 2023, Iraq ranked seventh, followed by Qatar in eighth place with 7.44 tons, the Philippines in ninth place with 7.10 tons, and Kyrgyzstan in tenth place with 6.95 tons.