Gold demand by central banks and other institutions worldwide grew at a year-on-year rate of 152.3% in 2022, to 1,135.7 tonnes, according to data from the World Gold Council.
In general, bullion banks provide a variety of services to the gold market and its participants, thus facilitating interactions between other parties.
Services provided by the bullion banking community include traditional banking products, as well as mine financing, physical gold purchases and sales, hedging and risk management, inventory management for industrial users and consumers, and gold deposit and lending instruments.
A decade ago, in 2012, gold demand by central banks and other institutions was 567.2 tonnes and the previous highest amount in the last decade occurred in 2018, when global demand totaled 656.2 tonnes.
Gold demand
On the other hand, the official sector encompasses the activities of the various central bank operations of gold-holding countries.
Having been a source of gold supply for many years, the official sector became a source of net demand in 2010.
According to Graniteshares Gold Trust, the importance attached by market commentators to this activity, together with the total amount of gold held by the official sector, has resulted in this area being a significant shift in the gold market.
Of the total gold demand in 2022, totaling 4,754.5 tons, the participation of jewelry (2,189.8 tons), investments (1,106.8 tons) and technological manufacturing (308.5 tons), among others, also stood out.
The investment sector includes the investment and trading activities of both professional and private investors and speculators. These participants range from large mutual and hedge funds to day traders on futures exchanges and coin collectors at the retail level.
The fabrication and manufacturing sector, meanwhile, represents all commercial and industrial users of gold for whom gold is a daily part of their business.
The jewelry industry is a major user of gold. Other industrial users of gold include the electronics and dental industries.