Seoul returns to gold buying, 13 years after pulling back
AI Market Summary
The Bank of Korea will resume physical gold purchases for the first time since 2013 and has also added gold ETFs, reinforcing ongoing central-bank accumulation. While the planned pace (about 4–5 tonnes/year) is deliberately modest versus existing reserves, the move adds incremental structural demand and signals renewed confidence in gold as a reserve diversifier amid record Q2 central-bank buying reported by the World Gold Council.
Impact level
● Medium
Affected assets
NCCOGOLD2USD/USDT+0.68%
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▲ Bullish
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The Bank of Korea (@bok_hub) is set to buy physical gold for the first time since 2013, ending a long pause that followed criticism over its purchase of 90 tonnes near the 2011 price peak.
Those holdings are now valued at about $11.8B versus the roughly $4.7B paid, according to Korea Economic Daily figures. The central bank also quietly added gold ETFs in the previous quarter.
The new buying plan is intentionally small. Purchases are expected to be limited to domestically refined bullion, totaling around 4 to 5 tonnes a year, leaving overall reserves little changed from the current 104.4 tonnes.
Seoul is re-entering an increasingly crowded market. Central banks bought a record 288.9 tonnes in Q2, according to the World Gold Council.
