Central banks purchased 118 tonnes in net gold in Q2 2014, representing a 28% year-over-year increase, according to The World Gold Council.
In May 2014, the European Central Bank and other European central banks signed the fourth Central Bank Gold Agreement (CBGA). The agreement says the central banks "currently do not have plans to sell significant amounts of gold," and that it will last for five years starting in the end of September 2014.
Country-wise, Russia saw a major increase in official reserves since February 2014, moving its place up two spots in the ranking.
Global official gold holdings totaled 31,812 tonnes as of August 2014, according to the latest report from the World Gold Council.
Business Insider identified the 10 countries with the largest gold reserves.
Note: CBGA refers to the Central Bank Gold Agreements. The first Agreement (CBGA 1) ran from Sept. 27, 1999, to Sept. 26, 2004. The second Agreement (CBGA 2) ran from Sept. 27, 2004, to Sept. 26, 2009. The third Agreement (CBGA 3) will run for five years from September 2009.
Gold imports by India are expected to decline for the third year, while the Indian central bank is monitoring the imports. In June, the Reserve Bank of India relaxed loan rules that banks can sanction against the pledging of gold "where the end use is not for agricultural purposes."
The government has been trying to deter people from purchasing the precious metal. Gold imports have been blamed for the nation's high current account deficit. India's central bank governor Raghuram Rajan has previously said the country can pay off its debt in gold.
A large portion of the Netherlands' gold reserves are held in the U.S., and some are held in Canada and the U.K. About 10% is expected to be held in Amsterdam. Earlier this year the Netherlands wanted to repatriate its gold.
Twenty-four karat gold bars at the U.S. West Point Mint facility in West Point, New York, on June 5, 2013.
In July, the Swiss central bank reported a $17.7 billion half-year gain, partially because of recovering gold prices.
In 1997, proposals were announced to sell a portion of the country's gold reserves because they were no longer considered to be "necessary for monetary policy purposes," according to the World Gold Council. In May 2000 the country began selling 1,300 tonnes of what it considered to be surplus gold. Under CBGA1, 1,170 tonnes were sold, and 130 tones were sold under CBGA2. Switzerland has announced no plans to sell gold under CBGA 3.
China overtook India to be the world's largest gold consumer in 2013. Gold still accounts for a very small percentage of China's $3.7 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, compared with the international average of 10%. Building up gold reserves will be crucial to China as it moves to internationalize its currency, and hopes to make it a reserve currency, according to the Financial Times.
Russia has increased its gold holding since February 2014 and has eclipsed both Switzerland and China. In August, Russia's central bank has decided to buy up even more gold and diversify away from the dollar and the euro as a result of the economic sanctions by the West.
Russia's central bank gold holdings crossed the 1,000-tonne mark for the first time in Q3 2013.
France sold 572 tonnes of gold under CBGA 2, and outside of the agreement France transferred about 17 tonnes to the Bank for International Settlements in late 2004 as part of a purchase of BIS shares. France announced no plans for sales of gold reserves under CBGA 3.
Bank of France has said it won't sell gold reserves because it provides confidence and diversification and can absorb volatility in its balance sheet, Reuters reported.
Germany reduced its gold holdings in October. The Bundesbank sells 6 to 7 tonnes to the finance ministry every year. Germany sold gold under CBGA 1 and 2 for the purposes of minting commemorative gold coins. In the first year of CBGA3 (2008 — 2009), the Bundesbank sold approximately 6 tonnes, and it has sold 4.7 tonnes of gold since Sept. 7, 2011.
The U.S. had its largest gold reserves in volume terms in 1952, when reserves totaled 20,663 tonnes. Holdings first fell below the 10,000 mark in 1968.