Gold hits new record high on rising US Fed rate cut expectations, renewed Middle East concerns
Also Read: Explained: Why are central banks accumulating gold in large quantities? In addition to the expectation of a rate cut by the US Fed, other major central banks are signaling their willingness to lower interest rates. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey hinted at possible rate cuts as soon as next month, while Sweden's central bank recently implemented its first interest rate cut in eight years. Emerging central banks are continuing their momentum in gold purchases, with China leading the way.
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has announced gold purchases for 18 consecutive months in April, bringing total official gold holdings to 2,264 tonnes by the end of April, an increase of 2 tonnes. This accounts for 4.9% of the PBoC's total reserves, the highest percentage ever. In an effort to diversify its forex reserves away from the U.S.
dollar, the country is selling record amounts of Treasury and US agency bonds. Beijing offloaded a total of $53.3 billion of Treasuries and agency bonds combined in the first quarter, according to Bloomberg calculations of the latest data from the US Department of Treasury. Also Read: Will the Indian stock market continue its upward momentum this week? Here's what experts say Similarly, India experienced a significant rise in gold imports, more than doubling to USD 3.11 billion in April from USD 1.53 billion in March.
During this period, gold prices in Delhi ranged between ₹76,400 and ₹67,755 per 10 grams. Despite strong gold demand in March, the market saw an unexpected downturn as jewelers stocked up for the Indian wedding season. However, demand rebounded in April due to the marriage season and continued gold purchases by the central bank, marking a significant turnaround.
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