Gold biscuits are seen in this picture illustration taken inside a jewellery showroom in Mumbai. India has moved 100 metric tonnes of its gold stored in the U.K. to domestic vaults in FY24.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

India has moved 100 metric tonnes of its gold stored in the U.K. to domestic vaults in FY24, sources said on Friday.

This is one of the biggest movements of gold undertaken by the country since 1991, when pledging a substantial part of the gold holding to tide over a foreign exchange crisis resulted in its movement out of vaults.

The country’s overall gold holding increased 27.46 metric tonnes in FY24 and it stands at 822 metric tonnes, as per official data.

A substantial part of the precious commodity is stored abroad, the sources said, adding that India also had its holding with the Bank of England like other countries.

The movement of 100 metric tonnes into India has taken the overall quantity stored locally to over 408 metric tonnes of gold, which means the local and foreign holding is now split almost evenly.

As per the annual report of the central bank for FY24 released on May 30, over 308 metric tonnes of gold is held in India as backing for notes issued, while another 100.28 tonnes is held locally as an asset of the banking department.

Of the overall gold reserves, 413.79 metric tonnes are held abroad, the annual report said.

According to the sources, given the gold buying over the last few years, a call was taken to reduce the holding abroad which is part of the standard review procedures.

In 2009, India had bought 200 tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund, after which it has been buying the precious commodity from the secondary market as part of its foreign exchange asset diversification efforts.

Officials from the Ministry of Finance, the RBI and other agencies took care of the movement of gold in complete secrecy given the high value, as per the sources.

At present, the gold held locally is stored at high security vaults and facilities in Mumbai and Nagpur, the sources added.

Mumbai:

India has moved 100 metric tonnes of its gold stored in the UK to domestic vaults in FY24, sources said today.

This is one of the biggest movements of gold undertaken by the country since 1991, when pledging a substantial part of the gold holding to tide over a foreign exchange crisis resulted in its movement out of India.

The country’s overall gold holding increased 27.46 metric tonnes in FY24 and it stands at 822 metric tonnes, as per official data.

A substantial part of the precious commodity is stored abroad, the sources told Press Trust of India, adding that India also had its holding with the Bank of England like other countries.

The movement of 100 metric tonnes into India has taken the overall quantity stored locally to over 408 metric tonnes of gold, which means the local and foreign holding is now split almost evenly.

As per the annual report of the central bank for FY24 released on Thursday, over 308 metric tonnes of gold is held in India as backing for notes issued, while another 100.28 tonnes is held locally as an asset of the banking department.

Of the overall gold reserves, 413.79 metric tonnes are held abroad, the annual report said.

Sources told Press Trust of India that given the gold buying over the last few years, a call was taken to reduce the holding abroad which is part of the standard review procedures.

In 2009, India had bought 200 tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund, after which it has been buying the precious commodity from the secondary market as part of its foreign exchange asset diversification efforts.

Officials from the Ministry of Finance, the RBI and other agencies took care of the movement of gold in complete secrecy given the high value, as per the sources.

At present, the gold held locally is stored at high security vaults and facilities in Mumbai and Nagpur, the sources added.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das today said India has been building up gold reserves as part of its forex deployment.

“We are building up gold reserves that is a part of our reserve deployment,” Governor Das told reporters at the customary post-policy review press conference.

He did not give any specifics on the quantum of gold buys, but pointed to the official data which shows an increase in the value of gold reserves.

As per official data, the value of gold in the forex reserves stood at USD 51.487 billion as on March 22, which is USD 6.287 billion higher than the value as at end-March 2023.

As per a recent news report, RBI bought 8.7 tonne of gold in January alone which is the highest in two years.

The central bank’s gold holdings had touched 812.3 tonne at the end of January from 803.58 tonne in the preceding month, as per the World Gold Council. The price of gold has also seen a rally over the last few months.

Earlier in the day, Governor Das announced that the overall forex reserves have touched an all-time high of USD 645.6 billion as of March 29, a breakup of which will be made available on Friday evening with the release of the weekly statistical supplement (WSS).

Speaking to reporters, Governor Das said RBI has consciously focused on building forex reserves over the last four-five years to act as a buffer against any future risks where there are dollar outflows from India.

He also said the central bank’s approach on the forex front adds strength to the national balance sheet as well.

Governor Das also said that having a stable rupee is a priority for the Reserve Bank.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)