Gold demand from central banks marched higher in turbulent 2015

Heightened geopolitical tension and a push for diversification in reserve assets led to central banks' net purchases of gold reaching 483 tonnes in 2015, the second highest annual total since the end of the gold standard.

Russia was the top buyer of gold for the fourth consecutive year, raising its ownership by 206 tonnes as it looks to diversify away from the US dollar due to tensions with the West, according to the latest report from Thomson Reuters GFMS, the gold consultancy.

China, whose currency will be added to the IMF's reserve currency basket this year, announced the first increase in gold holdings since 2009 in the middle of the year, buying 104 tonnes in the second half of the year to 1,742 tonnes. ...

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