By Hermoine Macura-Noble
Special to The Times Kuwait
Gold mining and investing has an estimated market cap of $13.2 trillion, which is great news for some of the top gold-producing countries in the world. Experts say the global gold market has made an impressive recovery after a two-year decline from the COVID-19 pandemic.
As consumers remain concerned about an uncertain economic future, many are looking for ways to protect themselves and their savings. Experts at Forex Suggest, a platform for forex and stock traders seeking latest data in their field, say that investing in gold is a smart choice and can help to provide stability during times of uncertainty.
New research by the firm reveals the demand for gold bars and coins in Kuwait has increased by 16 percent, the 10th highest in the world. With the demand for gold continuing to rise, the projected market value of gold mining and investment at the moment is $13.2 trillion. Forex Suggest has also analysed global data on central bank gold reserves, consumer demand for jewellery, ETF holdings and demand per capita to find the biggest gold nations.
According to a recent report, Egypt saw the biggest rise in gold bar and coin demand with Arab Finance reporting that Egyptian purchases of gold coins and bars jumped by 83 percent in 2022 to hit 4.4 tonnes. Russia saw the second-highest rise in demand for gold bars and coins.
The World Gold Council reported that demand for gold bars and coins grew faster in Russia in 2022 than in any other country, rising to nearly five times the level of 2021. In March, the central bank restricted sales of foreign currency, and on the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin scrapped VAT on gold bar purchases, which sparked a surge in buying. Completing the top three is Iran with a 64 percent increase in demand for gold bars and coins.
Further Study Insights reveal that the United States is the number one gold nation in the world — having the highest volume of central bank gold reserves (8,133 tonnes) as well as ETF gold holdings (1,668 tonnes). Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are defined as, baskets of stocks or bonds that trade like regular stocks’, and are usually passively managed, meaning they seek only to match the underlying benchmark index.
The largest gold exchange-traded fund is the SPDR Gold Trust, which is the go-to choice for investors looking to manage the precious metal. Consumer demand for gold in the US is growing quickly, and CNBC has reported that bar and coin demand has strengthened by 5 percent year-on-year to 302 tonnes. There was a shift in key markets in March, as the US demand hit its highest quarterly level since 2010.
Also, China is the biggest gold mining country in the world – producing 330 tonnes of gold as of 2022. In 2007, gold output rose by 12 percent from 2006 to 276 tonnes, and China became the world’s largest producer for the first time, overtaking South Africa, which had been the largest for a continuous 101 years since 1905. Surprisingly, Vietnam had the biggest increase in gold jewellery demand as well – with a 51 percent% increase between 2021 and 2022.
By Hermoine Macura-Noble
The first Australian English speaking News Anchor in the Middle East. She is also the Author of Faces of the Middle East and Founder of US-based 501c3 charity – The House of Rest which helps to ease the suffering of victims of war. For more from our Contributing Editor, you can follow her on Instagram, here.
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