The Wall Street Journal: Gold Surpasses Euro as Second-Largest Global Reserve Asset, ECB Says
Article by Joseph Hoppe in The Wall Street Journal
Gold surpassed the euro as the second largest global reserve asset at market prices last year, the European Central Bank said.
At the end of 2024, gold bullion made up around 20% of global official reserves–which comprise both foreign exchange and gold holdings–overtaking the euro’s 16%, the ECB said in a report. The increased share was driven by a combination of central bank stockpiling and record high gold prices.
Overall, central banks increased gold holdings by more than 1,000 metric tons in 2024 for the third year in a row, with purchases running at twice the average annual level seen in the 2010s.
The price of the precious metal has risen nearly 62% since the start of 2024 alone on a combination of geopolitical uncertainty, market volatility and central bank purchases, hitting an all-time high of $3,509.90 a troy ounce in mid-April. After adjusting for inflation, gold prices in 2024 surpassed their previous peak during .....