Gold Bullion buying by central banks soars to 48-year high - Wealth Management

Central banks added the most gold to reserves in almost a half century last year as prices averaged a record, the World Gold Council said.

The banks bought 145 metric tons in the fourth quarter, an eighth successive quarter of net buying, the London-based industry group said today in a report. They added 534.6 tons to reserves last year, 17 percent more than in 2011 and the most since 1964, it estimates. ...

"We think that the current rate of net central bank purchasing, driven by emerging countries, is likely to continue to be very strong," Marcus Grubb, managing director of investment research at the council, said yesterday by phone from London. "This is very much due to a desire to diversify away from over-reliance from the dollar and the euro."