Demand for gold reached record highs in 2024 fuelled by “eye-watering” interest from central banks and global investors, a fresh report has said.
Total demand reached 4,974 tonnes, and the value of global demand shot up to $382bn, over a year which saw the gold price surge by 26 per cent.
Central banks hoovered up over 1,000 tonnes of the yellow metal for the third year in a row, cementing a years-long trend of nation states growing their gold stocks in favour of reserve currencies like the dollar.
“Gold’s performance in times of crisis and its lack of default risk are both high up on central banks’ list of reasons they hold gold,” Louise Street, an analyst at the World Gold Council (WGC), which compiled the report, told City AM.
Officially, the National Bank of Poland was the keenest buyer of gold, adding 90 tonnes to its reserves over the course of 2024, while the central banks of Turkey and India bought 75 and 73 tonnes respectively.
Demand from central banks was largely driven by those in non-western and developing economies, the report found.
Private investors were also responsible for driving demand.
Global investment in gold reached a four-year high, again largely driven by non-western investors. Price-sensitive investors in the likes of the US and Europe saw four consecutive quarters of year-on-year declines in 2024, as many looked to crystallise gains made during the rally of the last two years.
But investors in China, India and other major developing economies meant demand rose overall.
The figures from industry the WGC are more evidence ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainty forcing investors into safe haven assets; a trend which has continued into 2025.
On Monday, the gold price reached an all time high, passing £2,280 per Troy ounce (/oz) for the first time, as uncertainty around Donald Trump’s tariff plans stimulated demand for the asset.
Street added: “Geopolitical uncertainty remains [at the forefront of investors’ concerns], but what we’re seeing is it moving away from the armed conflict side of geopolitics towards more trade kind of conflict,” she added.