Mexico, Russia and Central Banks Continue Diversifying into Gold
While gold demand from the western investors and store of wealth buyers has fallen in recent months, central bank demand continues to be very robust and this is providing strong support to gold above the $1,600/oz level.
IMF data released overnight shows that Mexico added 16.8 metric tons of gold valued at about $906.4 million to its reserves in March.
Russia continued to diversify its foreign exchange reserves and increased its gold reserves by about 16.5 tons according to a statement by its central bank on April 20.

Changes to Gold Holdings in IMF (March) - Reuters Global Gold Forum
Other creditor nations with large foreign exchange reserves and exposure to the dollar and the euro including Turkey and Kazakhstan also increased their holdings of gold according to the International Monetary Fund data.
Mexico raised its reserves to 122.6 tons last month when gold averaged $1,676.67 an ounce.
Turkey added 11.5 tons, Kazakhstan 4.3 tons, Ukraine 1.2 tons, Tajikistan 0.4 ton, and Belarus 0.1 tonnes, according to the IMF.
Ukraine, Czech Republic and Belarus also had modest increases in their gold reserves.
Central banks are expanding reserves due to concerns about the dollar, euro, sterling and all fiat currencies.
There is an increasing realisation amongst central bankers that gold is a less risky alternative to most paper currencies and a recent survey showed that that majority of central bank reserves managers were favourable towards gold.
Signifying the mood of caution among the world’s central bankers, 71% of those polled said gold was a more attractive investment than it had been at the start of last year.
Central banks added 439.7 tons last year, the most in almost five decades, and may buy a similar amount if not more in 2012, the World Gold Council and many analysts believe.
Turkey’s central bank increased the proportion of required reserves that commercial banks can deposit in gold last year. The changes have increased the amount of bullion the country, which owns 209.6 tons, declares in its official reserves.
President Vladimir Putin
Gold accounts for about 3.9 percent of Mexico’s total reserves and 9.7 percent of Russia’s, according to the World Gold Council. That compares with more than 70 percent for the U.S. and Germany, the biggest bullion holders, the data show.
The IMF data records the People’s Bank of China data showing that at the end of March China’s gold reserves remained unchanged at 33.88 million ounces.
This seems hard to believe and it remains likely that China is again quietly accumulating gold reserves and the PBOC will announce a material increase in their reserves when they are ready to do so.

中國外匯管理局昨 (23) 日公布，截至 2011 年底止，人行所持有的儲備黃金帳面價值已達 530 億美元 (約 4133 億港元) ，較 2009 年買入的成本價大增近 4 倍，成為去年最賺錢的投資資產。另外，去年中國對外證券投資達到 2600 億美元，較上年增加 1.12%。

《星島日報》報導，外管局公布，截至 2011 年底止，中國對外金融資產為 47182 億美元，對外金融負債 29434 億美元，對外金融淨資產 17747 億美元。對外金融資產中，對外直接投資 3642 億美元，證券投資 2600 億美元，其他投資 8382 億美元，儲備資產 32558 億美元，分別佔對外金融資產的 8% 、 6% 、 18% 和 69%。

截至去年底，人行所持的儲備黃金帳面價值達到 530 億美元，較上年增加 49 億美元。據人行數據顯示，自 2009 年 4 月至今，人行持有黃金總量一直為 3389 萬盎司，購入成本僅約 669.84 億人民幣 (約 106.18 億美元) ，若據此計算，人行所持黃金帳面價值，截至去年底升幅達 399.15% ，成為回報最高的資產。

另外，中國的對外貸款去年達 2232 億美元，較 2010 年底增加 90.11% ，貸款主要對象主要包括外國政府、國際組織，以及國外銀行和賣方信貸。 2010 年中國對外貸為 1174 億美元，較 2009 年增 20.53%。

中國對外金融負債方面，外國來華直接投資 18042 億美元，證券投資 2485 億美元，其他投資 8907 億美元，分別佔對外金融負債的 61% 、 9% 和 30% 。其中，截至去年底，債務證券大增 108.42% ，至 371 億美元，成為增速最快的對外負債項目。此外，外商投資股本證券去年增加 2.57% ，至 2114 億美元。

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The Best Reason in the World to Buy Gold

Dear CIGAs,  
   
Gold is officially replacing the US dollar June 28th. The cat is out of the bag.
 
Phil, you are booting any nation that dares to refuse to be legislated by any other body than themselves out of the SWIFT system.
 
You have officially made gold money. Now what are you going to do, declare economic war on China? They will fire dollars back at you.
 
You just might end the economic world as you knew it.
 
The Best Reason in the World to Buy Gold  
CIGA Eric
 
Have no doubt, emotions generated by short-term price action will be influencing investor decision-making a hundred years from now. We may have substituted iPad for the telegraph over the past hundred years, but we're still fairly lousy traders as a species. The real world makes decision based on reality rather than perceptions generated by emotions. Well, at least the real world that stays in business. The Chinese are buying gold while the public panics and sells. Nuf said.
 
Headline: The Best Reason in the World to Buy Gold
 
"Beijing is planning to avoid U.S. financial sanctions on Iran by paying for oil with gold. China's imports of the metal are already large, and you can guess what additional purchases are going to do to prices. On the last day of 2011, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. The NDAA, as it is called, attempts to reduce Iran's revenue from the sale of petroleum by imposing sanctions on foreign financial institutions conducting transactions with Iranian financial institutions in connection with those sales. This provision, which essentially cuts off sanctioned institutions from the U.S. financial system, takes effect on June 28."
 
Source: forbes.com