According to the World Gold Council, Uzbekistan topped the list in gold sales worldwide in February. Central banks' gold reserves increased by 19 tons, although the purchase volume was 58% lower than in January. China's People's Bank was the largest buyer, increasing its reserves by 12 tons to 2257 tons. Kazakhstan and India also boosted their gold reserves by 6 tons each in February.
Kyrgyzstan's National Bank reported a growth of over 1 ton in gold reserves in February, with total reserves now nearly 24 tons. Uzbekistan, previously the world's second-largest gold seller in 2023, saw a decrease of 12 tons in its gold reserves in February. The country sold gold worth $1.32 billion in February, an 11.5% increase from January-February 2023.
Uzbekistan's central bank revealed a decrease of $2.37 billion in international reserves in the first two months of the year, reaching $32.2 billion, with a physical gold volume of 370.1 tons. By the end of 2023, the country's "financial cushion" dropped by $1.2 billion to $34.56 billion, marking the first annual reserve decline since 2018, with a reduction of nearly 25 tons in physical gold volume.
