This has been a great year for gold. The precious metal is up 19%, and recently crossed $1,300 per ounce for the first time in 15 months before pulling back into the $1,265 area. One of the most encouraging signs for the yellow metal is that demand has come from all sorts of places. Buyers have come back into the market in India, the world’s largest buyer of gold, after a strike by the country’s jewelers associations brought business to standstill. In the US, demand for bullion is the strongest it’s been in 30 years.
But it’s not just everyday people who are scrambling to get their hands on gold: Central banks are loading up as well. Data from the World Gold Council showed that central banks scooped up a net 45 tonnes of gold during the first quarter. According to Capital Economics’ commodities economist, Simona Gambarini, central-bank demand in the first quarter climbed 28% versus a year ago. READ MORE
