RBI Transfers 107 Metric Tonne Of Gold From UK To India In Fiscal 2024
In FY24, the central bank added 27.46 metric tonne of gold to its coffers.
The Reserve Bank of India has transferred about 107.2 metric tonnes of its gold reserves from the UK to its repositories in India in the previous fiscal, according to data from the central bank.
At the end of March, RBI held 822.10 metric tonnes of gold, of which 408.31 metric tonnes were held domestically and 387.26 metric tonnes of gold were kept in custody with the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements.
The Times of India had earlier reported on this and said the move would reduce storage costs incurred.
In the fiscal 2023-24, the central bank added 27.46 metric tonnes of gold to its coffers.
This is not the first time the RBI has ramped up the accumulation of gold reserves in its foreign currency assets. In fiscal 2022, India bought 65.11 metric tonnes of gold.
In fiscal 2024, the share of gold reserves in RBI's foreign currency assets rose to 8.15%, from 7.81% at the end of the previous fiscal.
Growing macroeconomic uncertainty across the world due to geopolitical tensions in west Asia and Russia compelled the RBI as well as other central banks of emerging markets to expand their gold reserves. This would help central banks to safeguard against currency volatility.
Since gold acts as a natural hedge against price volatility, buying gold is a feasible choice by central banks. Indian consumers habitually purchase gold jewellery, especially during the festive season.
A persistent rise in gold prices during the financial year have also resulted in valuation gains for the RBI. In the financial year-ended March 2024, prices of gold futures rose 11.7% to close at $2,212.70 per ounce on March 31. On May 30, the price of most active August gold futures ended at $2,366.5 per ounce, from $2,364.1 at close on May 29.
"Amid geopolitical developments and a slowing global economy, these central banks are signalling that living in challenging times calls for strategic diversification," RBI said in its latest monthly bulletin.
