Gold in central banks’ asset allocation

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After a long lacklustre period during the 1980s and 1990s, the price of gold has picked up signifi cantly since the new millennium, and central banks, after having steadily reduced their allocation to gold, have resumed their gold purchases. This has been particularly the case for emerging central banks, which have benefi ted from a strong increase in their reserves and have been willing to diversify away from the US dollar, refl ecting the emergence of a multipolar world and the impact of the global fi nancial crisis. As a result, in 2018, gold represented about 13% of global central bank reserves, with very strong dispersion between developed central banks, historically heavily invested in gold, and emerging central banks, with much more modest holdings, but often rising exposure.