GS Analyst: Daily Current Affairs

• The central banks around the world purchased a record 1,136 tonnes of gold.

Key highlights:

• The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) gold reserves touched 794.64 metric tonnes in fiscal 2023, an increase of nearly 5 per cent over fiscal 2022, when it held 760.42 metric tonnes of gold.
• The RBI has been adding gold to its reserves, which is considered a safer, secure, and liquid asset, to safeguard its returns amid global uncertainty and a rising inflation scenario.

How much gold has RBI bought?

• The report on Management of Foreign Exchange Reserves: The RBI said 437.22 tonnes of gold is held overseas in safe custody with the Bank of England and the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), and 301.10 tonnes of gold is held domestically.
• Currently, the country’s total foreign exchange reserves stood at $578.449 billion, and gold reserves were pegged at $45.2 billion.
• In value terms (USD), the share of gold in the total foreign exchange reserves increased from about 7 per cent at the end of March 2022 to about 7.81 per cent at the end of March 2023.